Report: $1.3 trillion needed to rebuild the nation's infrastructure

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From CNN's Julie Vallese

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Structurally deficient bridges, unsafe dams and overcrowded and outdated school buildings are some of the problems cited in a report from an engineering group on the infrastructure of the United States, and it says it will cost $1.3 trillion to fix them.

The review, released Thursday by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), says the money is needed over the next five years to shore up the nation's crumbling infrastructure, which it graded as a D+ overall.

The 2001 report card sites explosive population growth, school enrollment outpacing education investment and maintenance, political red tape and an aging system for the almost failing grade. It also calls for a partnership between citizens, local, state and federal government and the private sector to remedy the problem.

In the three years since the society's last report, where an overall "D" was given, five categories have slightly improved, three have deteriorated and the addition of two new areas keeps the average grade low. The twelve areas are aviation, bridges, dams, drinking water, energy transmission, hazardous waste, roads, schools, solid waste, transit, wastewater and waterways.

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"The solutions to these problems involve more than money, but as with most things in life, you get what you pay for. America has been seriously under-investing in its infrastructure for decades and this report card reflects that," said ASCE President Robert W. Bein.

School enrollment outpaces construction

The solid waste category received the highest grade, a C+, and schools received the lowest mark -- a D-. Both received better grades than the 1998 report, where a C- and F were given respectively. One reason for the increased grade in solid waste is that state programs are successfully converting waste to energy by recycling. The report says 17 percent of the nation's solid waste is now converted to energy.

The nation's school system suffers from enrollment that outpaces construction, the report says. According the ASCE, three quarters of all school buildings fail to provide a positive learning environment because of overcrowding or outdated facilities. The report says $127 billion is needed to correct the problems.

Since 1995, transit ridership has increased 15 percent in the United States. Existing public transportation systems have had difficulty keeping up with demand, despite increased funding and growth. The report cites San Francisco's BART system and Washington D.C.'s Metro system as two mass transit systems that were not able to anticipate growth or predict commuter patterns when constructing the rails.

The report says air traffic has increased 37 percent over the past 10 years, but the nation suffers from gridlock in the skies due to lack of expansion in airport construction, air traffic control systems and infrastructure, which reported only a one percent increase in air travel capacity. Overall the nation received a C- for transit.

Wastewater and drinking systems in the country are old and in need of great improvements, the report says. Some sewer systems are 100 years old. Although billions of dollars have been spent on wastewater systems, only current systems have seen improvements. There has been no money spent on expansion for a growing population, the report notes. Wastewater and drinking water systems both received a D.

Dams also received a D, the same grade the category got in 1998. The report says there are more than 2,100 unsafe dams in the United States, with defects that can cause failure. Since 1999 there have been 61 reported dam failures and the number of dams that could cause loss of life increased from 9,281 to 9,921.

New category: Energy generation, transmission

Energy generation and transmission is a new category in the report. For its first showing, it received a D+ because of the inability to meet the overall demand for power. The report says more than 10,000 megawatts of capacities need to be added each year until 2008 to keep pace with the 1.8 percent growth in demand. In the last 10 years only 7,000 megawatts per year has been added.

The nation's ports, harbor channels and inland, intracoastal and coastal waterways were evaluated for the first time in the category of navigable waterways, earning a D+. Waterways move 2.3 billion tons of commercial goods, but the investment for these systems has decreased 709 percent over the past 30 years. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has $38 billion in approved projects to improve them that will take 25 years to complete.

An increase in federal and local funding helped to boost the grade for roads from a D- to a D+ and bridges from a C- to a C. The report warns that Congress must continue to commit funds to roads and bridges to maintain and improve these systems. Almost a third of bridges rank as structurally deficient and roads are in poor or mediocre condition.

"With a projected federal budget surplus of $5.6 trillion dollars, our leaders in Congress have the funds needed to restore our ailing infrastructure," said Bein.

Fighting 'downward trends'

Effective regulation and enforcement of policy boosted hazardous waste from a D- to a D+. Contamination of new sites has remained low, but the report cites concern that contamination could grow because of a backlog in the system.

"As dismal as these grades seem, many of the downward trends can be reversed with increased funding and a renewed partnership between citizens, local, state and federal governments," ASCE Executive Director James E. Davis said. "As a nation, we have taken for granted that our lights will turn on, our roads and bridges won't crumble beneath us and that we'll have clean and safe water when we're thirsty."

The report card was put together by an advisory panel for the ASCE. The 11 civil engineers on it represent various divisions of civil engineering. Each category was evaluated on the basis of condition and performance, capacity versus need and funding versus need.

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