The United States Used to be a Great Country...

by Robert Schumacher, New York City DOT, New York, NY, USA,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Rebuilding America: Infrastructure Rehabilitation

Abstract:

Up until 20 years ago, the American highway departments did a good job of maintaining bridges and they kept streets well paved. The public works departments maintained the water and sewer pipes and all other vital utility systems. This was paid for in a rational manner out of current annual revenues. Today there is a crisis of maintenance. To deal with that crisis, some planners refer to a '3-trillion-dollar-need' and feel pleased to have projected a number that many people have never heard before, a number that probably nobody can really conceive. Last year, New York State passed a capital bond issue of more than a billion dollars, advertised 'Re-Build New York', which meant mainly covering up maintenance neglected.

Subject Headings: Maintenance and operation | Utilities | Highway bridges | Asset management | Water pipelines | Urban and regional development | Streets | United States | New York

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