ASCE Executive Director Statement on Building America’s Future Report

Statement of Pat Natale, P.E., F.ASCE, executive director of the American Society of Civil Engineers

The release today of Building America’s Future new report, “Falling Apart and Falling Behind” further strengthens the national call for elected officials to stop talking about the woes of the nation’s infrastructure and do something. The report concludes with five solid, achievable and desirable recommendations.

“Falling Apart and Falling Behind” echoes the economic study recently issued by ASCE, “Failure to Act, The Economic Impact of Current Investment Trends in Surface Transportation Infrastructure.” The bottom line is that the nation’s surface transportation infrastructure today is failing to sustain the economy, is failing to bolster business innovation and exporting, and is failing the American family. 

The ASCE study found that a lack of investment in transportation infrastructure would inflict a double whammy on American families who would see their household incomes fall by $60 a month by 2020, while having to spend $30 per month more for goods. The total cost to families would exact about $10,600 per family between now and 2020, equal to $1,060 per year on household budgets. The study also found that the nation’s deteriorating surface transportation infrastructure will cause businesses to underperform by $240 billion over the next decade, which will drive the prices of goods up. Additionally, U.S. exports will fall by $28 billion, including 79 of 93 tradable commodities. Finally, this failure to invest will cost the American economy more than 876,000 jobs and suppress the country’s Gross Domestic Product by $897 billion by 2020.

Together, these two reports paint a very bleak picture for the U.S. economy, U.S. businesses and every man, woman and child in the coming years unless strong actions are taken.