InfrastructureU.S. infrastructure drops in world infrastructure ranking

The collapsed I-5 bridge in Washington State // Source: tiexue.net

The U.S. infrastructure has slipped badly in the world’s infrastructure ranking, both in absolute and relative terms, according to the Global Competitiveness Report for 2012-13, published earlier this month by the World Economic Forum.

The Huffington Post reports that U.S. infrastructure was ranked 7^th in 2008, but dropped to 14^th in the world this year. The U.S. score dropped from 6.10 in 2008 to 5.81 this year (7 is the top score, and 1 is the worst score).

The latest example of the sorry state of U.S. infrastructure was last Thursday’s collapse of the Interstate 5 bridge in Washington State. The sufficiency score of  700 bridges in the state is worse  that than the bridge which collapsed last week.

One of the main reasons for the deterioration of U.S. infrastructure in the last five years, a deterioration which is reflected in the drop in ranking, is the economic downturn which began in 2008. Funding for roads, bridges, highways, and other critical infrastructure is largely dependent on state revenues, and as states took less money in, they were forced to spend less on infrastructure maintenance and improvements.

The Post notes that Congress has done little to help the situation. The recent highway bill, for example, did not increase spending on transportation, even though lawmakers were aware of the need to do so. The 2009 stimulus package did help shore up some infrastructure, but was not nearly sufficient to meet the country’s needs.

In a 2013 U.S. infrastructure report card by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) reached similar conclusions to those of the Global Competitiveness Report. The ASCE gave American bridges a grade of  C+, dams and roads received a D, and rail lines received a C+. The infrastructure in the state of Washington received a C- from the ASCE’s Seattle branch, “due to a lack of planned funding and inadequate maintenance.”