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A once-every-four-years report card gave America’s infrastructure a “C” grade on Tuesday, up slightly from previous reports, largely due to investments made during former President Joe Biden’s administration.
The report from the American Society of Civil Engineers, which examined everything from roads and dams to drinking water and railroads, warns that federal funding must be sustained or increased to avoid further deterioration and escalating costs.
“We have seen the investments start to pay off, but we still have a lot of work to do out there,” says Darren Olson, chair of this year’s report. He says decrepit infrastructure—from poor roads that damage cars to delayed flights to power outages that spoil groceries—hurts people and the economy.
“By investing in our infrastructure, we’re making our economy more efficient, we’re making it stronger (and) we’re making ourselves globally more competitive,” he says.
It’s especially critical that infrastructure can handle more extreme weather due to climate change, says Olson, noting hurricanes that devastated the East Coast and parts of Appalachia last year. The U.S. saw 27 weather disasters last year that cost at least $1 billion each, the second-most since 1980.
