Looming Funding Shortfall for America’s Aging Infrastructure

With three decades of leadership experience in Florida engineering and transportation planning, Max Crumit serves as CEO of runoff collection technologies company Betonwerk US. Max Crumit also consults with a diversity of transportation companies throughout the southeastern United States and stays current on trends in his industry.

A recently released report by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) warns that the country’s economic future is threatened by major infrastructure spending shortfalls. Over the next nine years, the country must invest approximately $1.4 trillion, about double the amount projections forecast, into shoring up a rapidly aging transportation system.

One major implication of waiting to undertake needed repairs and rebuilding projects until the situation deteriorates is that shipping costs and traffic congestion will rise precipitously. This in turn will impact productivity and economic growth potential.

Unfortunately, the ASCE report notes that the bipartisan five-year highway bill passed in 2015 does not include major spending increases in critical areas, which also include sewers, electricity, and ports. It remains to be seen whether the US government will address these deficiencies before they reach a critical point.