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Improving America’s Basics
If we redirect resources to our country's priorities, America can be a nation where workers get to work on time without traffic-choked expressways, a country with world-class waterways and water infrastructure and a nation with schools that live up to the promise of future generations.
But the reality of today is:
- Americans spend almost 5 billion hours a year stuck in traffic on our highways due to years of neglect.
- At least 27 percent of our country's bridges are structurally deficient.
- Classrooms in our public schools are falling apart.
- Across America there are over 4,000 unsafe dams.
The American Society of Civil Engineers gives our country an overall “D” grade when it comes to taking care of our basics. The ASCE estimates that $2.2 trillion is needed over the next five years to bring America back up to standards.
Years of neglect have left America’s basics crumbling.
| Basic Needs | Necessary Investments | $ Value Returned to Communityi | Number of Jobs Createdii |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maintaining and upgrading America's bridges | $17 billion per year | $27.03 billion | 476,000 jobs |
| Improving America's roads | $375 billion for the next five years | $596.25 billion | 11.2 million jobs |
| Increasing America's passenger rail capacity and reducing delays in America's freight rail systems | $200 billion needed through 2035 | $318 billion | 2.8 million jobs |
| Upgrading America's airport capacity and air traffic control systems | $15 billion per year | $23.85 billion | 210,000 jobs |
| Maintaining and expanding America's transit systems | $21.6 billion per year | $34.34 billion | 648,000 jobs |
| Upgrading America's drinking water facilities to comply with federal safe drinking water standards | $11 billion annual shortfall | $17.49 billion | 217,000 jobs |
| Upgrading America's wastewater systems | $390 billion over the next 20 years | $620.1 billion | 7.7 million jobs |
| Repairing America's high-hazard dams | $16 billion | $25.44 billion | 224,000 jobs |
i Based on estimate of $1.59 GDP boost per dollar of infrastructure spending ‐ Mark Zandi, Chief Economist of Moody’s Economist.com.
ii Based on 30,000 jobs created or supported per billion in transportation infrastructure spending (U.S. DOT.) and an average of 19,769 jobs created per billion in water systems infrastructure spending and 19,262 jobs per billion in school infrastructure investment (Congressional Research Service Report.)
Resources
2009 Report Card for America's Infrastructure. American Society of Civil Engineers.
“Ready to Go” Jobs and Infrastructure Projects. U.S. Conference on Mayors.
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