March 14, 2022

The Decay of US Infrastructure

Doug I. Jones

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, cons the all tetur adiscing elit

The Decay of US Infrastructure

America’s infrastructure is desperately in need of investment, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers. It’s estimated the US needs to spend around $4.5 trillion by 2025 to fix the country’s roads, bridges, dams, airports, and other infrastructure.

— American Society of Civil Engineers

The US is facing an uphill battle, that desperately needs addressing, when it comes to our infrastructure problems. From a report in 2017 by the American Society of Civil Engineers, the US received a D+ grade on overall infrastructure. This report, which is published every four years, took into account our roads, bridges, dams, airports, schools, water systems, and more.

The ASCE also reports that to fix our problems and get the US infrastructure issues solved, we would need to spend $4.5 Trillion over the next 6 years. President Trump and his administration, in 2018, took the first steps of tackling this issue by proposing a $200 Billion Infrastructure Plan that will finance new projects and incentivize private investment.

Our biggest immediate upgrade needs are our roads, bridges, and airports. Below, we will take a closer look at each area and the grade given to the area by ASCE.

Roads

America’s roads are in bad shape and graded out with a D. One reason our roads are in such bad shape is due to the $836 Billion in unmet capital needs that have been recognized by the US Department of Transportation. This has led to 32% of urban and 14% of rural roads crumbling.

Bridges

US bridges are aging. With 56,000 of our bridges structurally deficient, they graded out with a C+. With a total of 614,387 bridges across the country, more then a third are 50 years of age or older. The report from the US Department of Transportation has estimated that it would cost $123 Billion to repair our bridge’s needs.

Airports

According to ASCE America’s airports have been facing a funding gap of $42 Billion since 2016 and that gap will last until 2025. This lack of funding and the desperate need of Airport upgrades we graded out at a D. Research has found that some two million people travel through US airports on a daily basis and that once a week “Thanksgiving holiday travel” congestion levels occur in 24 of our top 30 airports.

With the US infrastructure in dire need of repair and with the president’s infrastructure plan, we should see an influx in the need for construction materials and labor. This is where Vulcan Metal Stampings can help!

With Vulcan Metals Stamping’s line of construction products for highways and bridges, like our Concrete Highway Metal Keyway and our Permanent Metal Deck Forming clips, we can help supply the needs and demands of contractors across the country.

(Original article by Business Insider, with research done through the American Society of Civil Engineers)

Vulcan products are proudly made in the U.S.A