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Brandon Byers
Advancing America's Infrastructure
The infrastructure of America needs to be improved. This is important because I come in
contact with types of infrastructure everyday. I drive on roads everyday and some of them are in
poor condition. There are also many buildings that are eyesores and many bridges are in
disrepair. Infrastructure is important for transportation and working. Americans need efficient
ways of transportation such as railroads and interstate highways. If these things are in excellent
condition then America and its citizens will be more efficient.
Great attention was paid to our infrastructure in the past such as, the Trans-Continental
railroad. I do not know why America has let its roads and bridges fall into decay. How did our
infrastructure get to the condition that it is in? What was done in the past to improve our
infrastructure? Can this be repeated again? Can spending priorities be adjusted? What things are
necessary in order to raise money for these projects? And by what means can this money be
raised?
America's roads, buildings, and bridges are rapidly decaying. This is due to little attention
being paid to them. They have been neglected and it is showing. People want their roads and
buildings to be in excellent condition and this would make transportation very efficent. They feel
that because the government is responsible for the people it is also responsible for taking care of
the infrastructure. Naturally they do not want to pay for this, because they feel that it is the
governments job. The most logical way to pay for this is to use tax money but the citizens do not
want their taxes raised. This puts the government in a tough position because they know that
these things must be fixed and upgraded but they do not have the money to do this. If they could
raise taxes it would be a simple way to help raise more money for the things that need repaired.

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However, if the taxes are raised then the people will become angry and politicans could hurt their
chances of being re-elected.
Deteriorating infrastructure is dangerous, it can cause serious injuries to people and if a
bridge collapses it can take weeks, or even months to repair. This slows down people, which
could lead to stifling economic activity. For example, the 2007 collapse of the I-35 bridge in
Minnesota killed 13 people and injured 145 others (NTSB). This was due to two primary
reasons, first the bridge was built in 1967 which meant that it was already 40 years old (NTSB).
The second reason is negligence. The bridge was assessed as "poor" and listed as structurally
deficient in 1991, meaning nothing was done for 16 years. So, because the project was put off
and nothing was done, 13 people lost their lives. This also meant that there was no bridge for
months because a new one had to be built. Another example of this was the collapse of the Bay
Bridge in Oakland in 1989 (Shimokawa 290). An earthquake was partly to blame however, the
collapse was attributed to structural failure. In the end, 65 people lost their lives and thousands
more were injured in the incident (Shimokawa 290). These things happen because Americans
have become accustomed to waiting to fix something until it breaks or fails however, this is the
wrong mentality (Powell). We have become complacent with our infrastructure and have no
interest in improving and modernizing it because it costs us money and does not pay for itself
immediately.
Many of America's existing bridges that were once sufficient are now no longer so. In
fact, 25 percent of our bridges were not built to withstand the amounts of traffic that they now
bear (LePartner 1). Also, bridges are difficult to construct. A bridge cannot be mass-produced
like a automobile or a toy, they have to be built specifically for their location and this takes time
and money (Le Partner 2). If these bridges are not repaired and reconstructed then we take the

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risk of another collapse. How many collapses will have to take place until the American public
finally takes the initiative.
Our government has put aside some money for these projects however, it is not enough.
Transportation improvements are expensive. The Stimulus Act designated $27.5 billion for
infrastructure improvements across the entire United States. This is not nearly enough because
the other day driving home from my grandparents, I saw a sign that said $49 million expansion
project." This project is just to expand the turnpike from two lanes into three, and it will cost $49
million for just a section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The government must appropriate more
funds otherwise all of the deficient bridges cannot possibly be replaced by just raising taxes.
They would have to be increased to incredible amounts in order to raise these amounts of money.
This is why it is necessary that the government set aside funds so that it can keep taxes at a
reasonable level. The government could do this by re-prioritizing its budget to include
infrastructure improvements as one of its top priorities.
However, if the funds for these projects is going to be raised with taxes then one primary
thing is important. This is the accountability of the government to the tax payers they need to
know that their money is being spent on what they are told it is being spent on (Slack 64). The
government must obtain the trust of its citizens in order for this to work. If they can accomplish
this, then perhaps they will be able to raise the taxes because the people will trust them as well as
how they will use them. Greg Shimokawa stated that, Congress has been unable to pass a longterm funding re-authorization, settling instead for a series of shorter-term extensions (291).
Congress must designate some money for long-term projects, because the sheer number of
projects will require years in order to complete. The United States would need $3.6 trillion to
improve its existing infrastructure over the next five years, just the existing not expanding or

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reasearching and developing it (Mostafavi at al 127). Improving the existing is the most
necessary at this time. After the current is improved then it will be wise to develope new designs
and materials for future construction projects.
Great attention was paid to our infrastructure in the past. For example, the Hoover Dam
was built in the 1930's and still exists today. President Eisenhower commissioned the
construction of the Interstate Highway system in the 1960's. This improved America's
transportation and logistics. However, all of these projects are now more than 50 years old and
are in need of repair or complete reconstruction (Shimokawa 287). The projects were viewed as
an investment in the future and although it would be expensive in the beginning it would pay for
itself in the end, these people considered the future (Powell). Now people are too concerned with
the present and this is probably why there is not enough public awareness. The Federal Highway
Act of 1956 set aside $30 billion for the construction of over 40,000 miles of interstate highway.
The money was raised by adding a one cent tax to gasoline and increasing the user highway
taxes (History). It is possible that this strategy could be employed once more. Currently there is
money that could be used because businesses are hesitant to take out loans because of the
economy and therefore, there is $2.7 trillion left in reserve (Krugman). Not all of the money
should be used of course, but it would be logical to use some of these funds for construction of
new bridges and the repaving of roads.
A modern transportation system will also fuel economic activity. People get to their jobs
by driving on roads and over bridges. This also applies to the shipping industry. The faster
deliveries can be made means that more deliveries can be made in a shorter amount of time. This
will spark economic growth because it will increase consumer spending, which will in turn
increase tax revenue. However, to accomplish this America's roads and bridges must be in

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excellent shape. Construction to fix poor existing roads slows down traffic and the trucks that are
making the deliveries. "Poor roads cost motorists $54 billion a year in repairs and operating
costs, while Americans spent 3.5 billion hours a year stuck in traffic jams (Kemp 45). This is a
halt to America's econimic productivity because if people are late to work because of traffic jams
than they will get less work done which means that less products will be produced. This will
eventually hurt America's economic output and untimately our Gross National Product.
Being honest most people, including myself, entertain the thought of a bridge collapsing
while driving across it. Now because of so many structurally deficient bridges this is a real
possiblity. The improvement of highways and the addition of truck lanes will improve our
logistics which will in turn spur economic development, which is desperately needed in order to
compete with countries such as China (Powell). We have become complacent and are "coasting"
on our existing infrastructure, should we continue to do so we may find ourselves falling behind
in the world fianacially and economically (Reid 28).
America must improve and upgrade its infrastructure or it could risk the lives of its
citizens as well as hurt economic growth. Funds must be raised and the government and its
citizens must be willing to work together and compromise, even if it means raising taxes or
altering government spending. Everyone is impacted by infrastructure, it is all around us it
effects transportation, logistics, and every part of our lifes even down to houses. Americans must
see the need and be willing to do whatever is necessary to improve it, otherwise we risk falling
behind in a fast paced world and no economic super-power can afford that.

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Works Cited
"Collapse of the I-35 Highway Bridge." National Transportation Safety Board. National
Transportation Safety Board, Jan. 2008. Web. 30 Nov. 2014.
"June 26 1956: Congress Approves Federal Highway Act." History. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov.
2014.
Kemp, Roger L. "America's Deteriorating Infrastructure: Are We on the Road to Ruin?" National

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Civic Review Summer 95.2 (2006): 45-47. Web. 6 Nov. 2014.
Krugman, Paul. "Ideology and Investment." The New York Times [New York] 27 Oct. 2014,
October ed., sec. A: n. pag. Print.
LePatner, Barry B. Too Big to Fall: America's failing Infrastructure and the Way Forward. New
York: Foster Pub., 2010. Print.
Mostafavi, Ali, Dulcy M. Abraham, and Joseph V. Sinfield. "Innovation in Infrastructure Project
Finance: A Typology for Conceptualization." Internation Journal of Innovation Science
September 6.3 (2014): 127-44. Web. 6 Nov. 2014.
Powell, Anne Elizabeth. "Rebuilding America's Infrastructure." Civil Engineering September
71.9 (2001): n. pag. Web. 6 Nov. 2014.
Reid, Robert L. "Report Warns U.S. Economy Depends on Transportation Infrastructure and
Land Use Planning." Civil Engineering August (2008): 28-30. Web. 2 Dec. 2014
Shimokawa, Greg. "America's Infrastructure." Creighton Law Review April 47.2 (2014): 287313. Web. 6 Nov. 2014.
Slack, Enid. "Municipal Financing of Capital Infrastructure in North America." Journal of
Property Tax Assessment & Administration 2.1 (2005): 63-78. Web. 6 Nov. 2014.