ASCE estimates that $1.6 trillion is needed over a five-year period to bring the nation's infrastructure to a good condition. Establishing a long-term development and maintenance plan must become a national priority. But in the short term, small steps can be taken by the 110th Congress, as well as state legislatures and local communities, to improve our nation's failing infrastructure.

Forward or Back?
Recent steps on infrastructure issues

May 12, 2008: Gas Prices Send Surge of Riders to Mass Transit New York Times, With the price of gas approaching $4 a gallon, more commuters are abandoning their cars and taking the train or bus instead. Read more...

May 12, 2008: Growing Number of US Scientists are Mobilizing for Public Office AP Newswire He is among a growing number of scientists who feel slighted and abused in the public debate in recent years and are mobilizing for a new effort to inject "evidence-based decision making" into public policy. Read more...

May 10, 2008: Prince George?s County, MD: Billions Needed to Fix Schools The Washington Post The Prince George's County school system requires $2.1 billion to fix its aging buildings, according to a study that found many schools running on antiquated equipment and deteriorating inside and out. Read more...

May 8, 2008: Pipeline of trouble: Aging sewer systems pose threat to health, municipal agencies fined $35M since 2003 for overflows. USA Today, America's aging sewer systems continue to dump human waste into rivers and streams, despite years of fines and penalties targeting publicly owned agencies responsible for sewage overflows, a Gannett News Service analysis shows. Read more...

May 8, 2008: Criticized in U.S., the F.A.A. Is Seen in Many Regions as a First-Rate Regulator, New York Times. Despite the heightened scrutiny of the Federal Aviation Administration, regulators elsewhere say they still view the American agency as a model for safety and regulatory compliance. Read more...

Archived Infrastructure Stories