“Crumbling infrastructure” is a phrase many Americans know all too well.
Abandoned buildings, neglected highway maintenance, and seemingly endless potholes are just a few of the sights plaguing regions across the country. Citizens are forced to make their daily commutes on roads that are uneven and unsafe, leaving many disgruntled about the look and feel of their communities. Needless to say, it quite literally appears that the country is falling apart.
Politicians often campaign on the issue of infrastructure rebuilding, seeing as it is an issue almost everyone could support in some way—or so it would seem. In recent weeks, President Trump has unveiled a plan to generate infrastructure spending; however, it is a far cry from meeting the country’s larger needs. The major snag in Trump’s plan—which has already been reduced from a $1.5 trillion promise to a $200 billion pledge—comes from the way it is being financed.
Essentially, the proposal calls for states to fund projects at a higher rate than the federal government (the opposite of how most highway projects are financed now) and for spending to be offset with cuts elsewhere in the budget. Coupled with a $1 trillion tax cut passed by Republicans that has exponentially increased the deficit, finding a way to pay for the plan seems elusive. More than anything, this new proposal leaves little promise for bipartisan agreement let alone tangible progress.
In the month of March alone, two major infrastructure crises took place, harming witnesses and leaving further damage to communities. In Kentucky, four people were injured after two freight trains collided and derailed late at night. A fire was ignited due to the crash, forcing local residents to evacuate and schools to be closed. Most harrowingly, a Miami pedestrian bridge collapsed just two weeks ago, leaving six dead and nine rescued from the rubble. The bridge was “intended to give Florida International University students a safe route across the busy roadway,” though this clearly failed its residents. Student Alexa Duran was one of the disaster’s victims. According to reports, the causes for the collapse were likely structural. The main portion of the unfinished bridge rested on concrete pylon not supported in the middle, fracturing it two diagonal beams were joined. Additionally, the bridge apparently lacked “redundancy,” known as extra structural elements holding up the span if one piece were to fail.
While other industrialized countries are considerably advanced in their commitment to infrastructure rebuilding, the U.S. continues to stagnate, going as far as to receive a “D+” from the American Society of Civil Engineers. What drives frustration among citizens is the knowledge that without major improvements to both older structures and current practices in building, these types of events are likely to continue across the country at rapidly increasing rates. There is only so long Americans—especially Congress—can continue the status quo of complacency on infrastructure before these “accidents” become a direct result of inaction.