Infrastructure is essential to everyday life, however, the United State’s infrastructure is rated a C- according to the American Society of Civil Engineers. To elaborate, infrastructure is fairly complicated, it can depend on what the context is, infrastructure in a city is very much different to a university, unless said university is in the city, it is then part of the city’s infrastructure; put simply, it is the basic equipment a region needs to function properly, such as transport. To circle back, the grade given by the ASCE means that, overall, the infrastructure in America is lacking in many regards, such as how 43% of roads in America are in poor or mediocre conditions. As previously mentioned, a very vital part of infrastructure, roads, were given a D, this grade means that the roads in America are in poor shape, roads are underfunded and that is apparent in some areas of the United States, such as in Seattle, Washington, where a bridge called the West Seattle Bridge cracked and was closed, adding to commute times.

The problem is apparent, but how can this problem be solved? The main solution is to have the government, whether it be federal, local, or state level, invest in infrastructure and put people to work; one solution that could work is to bring back the Work Progress Administration, this program was established during the Great Depression that put unskilled people to work, helped the economy, people gained employment, and the WPA worked on infrastructure that was vital to the program – laying thousands of miles in roads. This could kill two birds with one stone, it would help solve the unemployment crisis caused by the pandemic and it would help build up infrastructure.

In conclusion, American infrastructure is very important, however it is lacking in many regards. The best solution would be to invest in infrastructure, by putting people to work and putting money into infrastructure.

Sources

Cournoyer, Caroline. “Six Ideas for Fixing the Nation’s Infrastructure Problems.” Governing, Governing, 21 Apr. 2021, www.governing.com/archive/six-ideas-for-fixing-the-nations-infrastructure-problems.html .   

Cross, Dominick. “Why Not Bring Back the WPA?” The Daily Advertiser, The Daily Advertiser, 2 Apr. 2016, www.theadvertiser.com/story/opinion/columnists/2016/04/02/why-not-bring-back-wpa/82525924/.  

Lindblom, Mike, and Heidi Groover. “West Seattle Bridge Will Stay Closed through 2020 and 2021.” The Seattle Times, The Seattle Times Company, 23 Apr. 2020, www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/transportation/west-seattle-bridge-will-stay-closed-through-2020-and-2021/. 

“ASCE’s 2021 American Infrastructure Report Card: GPA: C-.” ASCE’s 2021 Infrastructure Report Card |, 17 Mar. 2021, infrastructurereportcard.org/.  

“Infrastructure: What Is It, Why Do We Need It and Why Does It Cost So Much?” Building Solutions, 13 Sept. 2018, www.buildingsolutions.com/industry-insights/infrastructure-what-is-it-why-do-we-need-it-why-does-it-cost-so-much.  

“Works Progress Administration (WPA).” Edited by History.com Editors, History.com, A&E Television Networks, 13 July 2017, www.history.com/topics/great-depression/works-progress-administration#section_1.