Maintenance is frightfully past due on infrastructure projects across the country. Disaster looms. Elected leaders in 2021 have this in common: the imperative to invest significantly in public works.
Dig In
For years, the American Society of Civil Engineers has been steadily highlighting the critical need for attention to infrastructure. From aviation to wastewater—and everything in between, disasters loom. In fact, America’s Cumulative Infrastructure Grade in 2017 was a D+. Ouch!
As Construction Dive reports:
For surface transportation alone, according to the latest data from the ASCE, it will take at least $1.5 trillion, in 2019 dollars, to close the gap between current spending and what is needed to bring roads, rail and bridges into a state of good repair.
However, the price of doing nothing is even higher. The costs of deficient U.S. road networks, according to the ASCE, could reach more than $4 trillion over the next 20 years, even with the expected efficiency gains from connected and autonomous vehicle technology.
Congress, President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden have said they are committed to getting major infrastructure legislation passed soon. But in the meantime, Americans continue to use infrastructure that is in a serious state of disrepair, if not downright deadly.
Worst case disaster scenarios make it clear that infrastructure projects can no longer be deferred. Construction Dive examines several of the massive problems the country is confronting. For example, the Hudson River Tunnel, vital to both vehicle and train transit between New York and New Jersey, still suffers from dangerous deterioration from the salt water driven in during Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Only emergency maintenance allows the Tunnel to remain open.
Meanwhile, U.S. Highway 1 on the east coast of Florida is arguably the deadliest road in the country. Experts advocate attention to solutions like street design, bicycle lanes and automated speed limit enforcement. California’s Mojave Dam has been classified as a “high” risk for failure, threatening approximately 300,000 residents in the area.
Even as Flint, Michigan works to complete the replacement of lead pipes first identified as endangering drinking water in 2014, Chicago is struggling to put a plan in pace to replace that city’s lead pipes.
Contractors: Are You Bid Ready?
Clearly, funding for infrastructure can’t come too soon. When it does, how prepared is your company to win new contracts?
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Founded in 1930, Colonial Surety Company is a direct seller and writer of surety bonds and insurance products for a wide range of industries and professions. The Partnership Account® reflects Colonial’s priority: innovating to provide value-added services to small business owners.Colonial is rated “A Excellent” by A.M. Best Company, U.S. Treasury listed, and licensed in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and most U.S. Territories.