As Neal Emphasizes, Unmet Infrastructure Needs Come with Huge Costs to All

A new report by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) cited yesterday by Springfield's Richie Neal, one of the most powerful figures in Washington, provides yet more compelling reasons why our state needs huge spending on infrastructure, stat. Here are four:

• Twenty-five percent of the roads in Massachusetts are in poor condition.  
• We the driving public incur costs averaging $620 per year due to the wear and tear those roads inflict.
• To ensure the provision of safe, clean drinking water, Massachusetts should spend $12.2 billion over the next 20 years on water systems maintenance and improvements. 
• If all of the maintenance on all of the parks in Massachusetts that has been put off for years were performed at once, it would cost $244 million.  

In a virtual address to the Massachusetts High Technology Council, Neal, who has represented our state's First Congressional District for 32 years and is now chairman of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, said, "The gradual decline in our federal infrastructure investment over the years has resulted in an alarming number of crumbling roads and bridges, inadequate access to broadband, and an under-supply of affordable housing and community-based investments."

The ASCE infrastructure "report card," released last week, shows that deteriorating roads, bridges and highways "affect every aspect of our daily lives," Neal emphasized.

I recommend looking at the full document at: infrastructurereportcard.org

If the U.S. continues to "underinvest" in infrastructure, the ASCE warns, the nation in total will lose $10 trillion in gross domestic product, more than three million jobs, and $2.4 trillion in exports between now and 2039.

The ASCE says:  "When we fail to invest in our infrastructure, we pay the price.  Poor roads and airports mean travel times increase.  An aging electric grid and inadequate water distribution make utilities unreliable.  Problems like these translate into higher costs for businesses to manufacture and distribute goods and provide services.  These higher costs, in turn, get passed along to workers and families.  By 2039, America's overdue infrastructure bill will cost the average American household $3,300 a year, or $63 dollars a week."  

[Note: Bold faced type in this post was added.]