The US has a problem that has been developing and worsening for years - our crumbling infrastructure.
We have a lot of work ahead of us. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers' Report Card for America's Infrastructure, the US got a C- grade for our infrastructure. The need for addressing this problem is growing by the day. The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates the country needs “to spend $4.5 trillion by 2025 to fix the country’s roads, bridges, dams, airports, and other infrastructure.”
Keep reading to learn more about the US’s need to invest in infrastructure and why that will provide job security for those working in the paving industry.
What is the General State of the Infrastructure in the US?
The population of people in the US has grown significantly. Since the 1960s, our nation’s population has more than doubled. In the 1960s, our infrastructure was designed to meet the needs of the people at that time. At this point, much of our infrastructure has not only gotten to the end of its lifespan, it is severely overburdened. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) collects data on US infrastructure into report cards. Let’s look at some of the most important areas of our nation’s infrastructure based on the info in this report.
Roads and Our Infrastructure
American roads are in rough order. The overall rating of our roadways is a D. A huge contributor to this deterioration of our roads is $836 billion in unmet funding. Roadways have fallen into disrepair at a rate of 32% on urban roads and 14% for rural roads.
Bridges and Our Infrastructure
Bridges don’t look good either. There are about 56,000 bridges with deficiencies in their structure. This high number of bridges with problems earned the US bridges a score of C+. Our nation has more than 600,000 bridges and up to a third of them are over 49 years old.
Airports and Our Infrastructure
There is a funding gap in US airports that is up to $42 billion. The state of our airports including this funding gap led to a rating of D. Due to the high traffic of people traveling through by plane, this state of airports is unsettling.
Job Security Comes in the Great Demand to Fix Our Crumbling Infrastructure
The infrastructure in the US is in severe disrepair and is currently a safety risk. However, this great need presents great potential for those in the paving industry like Ajax Paving. Our crews in Michigan and Florida are in high demand for paving projects on roadways, airports, and more. We are always looking for paving crew members to help rebuild our nation. Give us a call today to discuss your future career in paving.