Lost Highway: Will Congress Save America’s Crumbling Infrastructure?
America’s bridges, roads, and mass-transit systems are not exactly in stellar shape. The American Society of Civil Engineers’ Report Card for America’s Infrastructure—which gave the country an overall grade of “D” in its most recent report—estimates that, in the next five years, the nation’s funding shortfall for rail alone will approach $12 billion.
Unfortunately, things may be about to get even worse. The last congressional bill authorizing funding for so-called “surface transportation” expired in 2009; since then, lawmakers have plugged the gap by passing a series of temporary extensions. Now, Congress has until June 30 to come up with a new bill authorizing funding.