The American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) “Failure to Act: Closing the Infrastructure Investment Gap for America’s Economic Future” 2016 report estimates that continued underinvestment in infrastructure will cost each U.S. family $3,400 a year over the next decade. The report is the latest in a series of “Failure to Act” studies, launched in 2011, that provides an economic context for the ASCE “Report Card for America’s Infrastructure” reports.
The new study updates data and projections for infrastructure in five different sectors: water and wastewater, surface transportation, electricity, airports, and inland waterways and marine ports. The analysis shows that in the years since the earlier reports, various state actions along with some federal funding measures have helped stabilize the infrastructure gap, but the overall picture still shows that underinvestment is negatively affecting the nation’s economy.
In the water and wastewater sector, ASCE projects the total investment gap will be $105 billion through 2025 and $152 billion by 2040. These shortfalls will cause the U.S. to lose nearly 500,000 jobs and suffer a loss of more than $508 billion in GDP. By 2040, 956,000 jobs will be at risk, and the cumulative economic impact is expected to be $3.2 trillion of GDP.
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The report is online at www.asce.org/failuretoact.