Infrastructure in the United States — highways, bridges, inland waterways, water systems, airports, the power grid, etc. — is showing its age. As of early last week, President Joe Biden’s eight-year, $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure deal appeared to be holding, but polarization in Washington makes the deal fragile.
“A look at data from the American Society of Civil Engineers and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers shows how far U.S. infrastructure has actually aged,” Statista, a provider of market and consumer data, noted in a June 25 post. “In its most recent Report Card for American’s Infrastructure, published this year, the Civil Engineers calculated the average age of dams and levees at 50 and 57, respectively, putting them at or beyond their expected service age.
“Water pipes, sewage pipes and even the much cited bridges stayed under the 50-year line. The oldest pieces of infrastructure in the U.S. are actually lock chambers used for inland waterways like the Mississippi, Tennessee, Illinois or Ohio rivers.”
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