This 2005 study presented the daunting, expensive facts; and there likely has been a 25 - 30 % increase or more since then in this desperately needed plan of action. There are countless bridges, roads, dams, and other essential infrastructure nationally in need of attention and fast. The only way to pay for these safety projects are with taxes. Gasoline fuel taxes need to be increased by about a dime to twenty cents per gallon by the Feds, and diesel fuel taxes should go up by about a quarter per gallon to help pay to get these projects done by 2015. Future uses of these new gasoline taxes could be used to fund and improve greater mass transit such as regional multi-state trains, greater availability of localized mass transit such as light rail, dedicated bus lanes and stations, and more HOV lanes. Needed work on dams and water/waste infrastructure could be financed by new taxes on water use, particularly outdoor usage, and on sewer and garbage services.It is alarming to think that an imposing earthen dam in the Denver area, Cherry Creek Dam, that I lived less one mile from is considered to be of "concern". This dam, built in the early to mid 1950s in an area that was once desolate prairie and farmland, is now in the midst of a densely populated and developed urban corridor about nine miles SE of downtown Denver. The dam itself has a two lane road on its top that is used extensively by commuters as well as local drivers.
http://www.asce.org/reportcard/2005/map.cfm
http://www.asce.org/asce.cfm
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0103/p09s01-coop.html
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