According to the American Society of Civil Engineers' 2021 "Report Card for America's Infrastructure," released in March, the United States received an overall grade of C- for the state of its infrastructure. The report contends that the nation's failure to adequately upgrade its decades-old roads, bridges, tunnels, water systems, electrical grid, public transit system and much more, combined with the demands of a growing population and the greater frequency of severe storms and natural disasters, have left the infrastructure in woeful disrepair and, in many cases, unsafe. Among the report's alarming findings: 1. 42% of the United States' 617,000 bridges are more than 50 years old, and more than 46,000 are rated as structurally deficient. 2.Within the nation's 2.2 million miles of underground water pipes, a water main break occurs every 2 minutes, resulting in the daily loss of an estimated 6 billion gallons of treated water nationwide. 3.Thanks to wear and tear on our nation's highways and roads, more than 40% were rated in "poor" or "mediocre" condition. 4.19% of public transit vehicles and 6% of fixed guideway elements such as tracks and tunnels were rated in "poor" condition.
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