COUNTRY'S PUBLIC WORKS ARE A WRECK, NEEDS TO SPEND $1.6 TRILLION TO

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THADDEUS HERRICK, WALL STREET JOURNAL - Airports, roads, rail, bridges
and other transit infrastructure are deteriorating across the U.S.
because of insufficient investment, according to a report. Chicago needs
$6 billion to bring its subways into good repair, says the report by the
Urban Land Institute and Ernst & Young LLP. Rehabilitation or
replacement of the Tappan Zee Bridge north of New York City could cost
as much as $14.5 billion. And in Atlanta, current rush-hour trips by car
could take 75% longer by 2030. . .

In 2005, the American Society of Civil Engineers graded as "poor" the
condition of the nation's transit infrastructure as well as power grids,
dams and systems for drinking water and wastewater. The U.S. faces a
$1.6 trillion deficit in needed infrastructure spending through 2010 for
repairs and maintenance, today's report says. . .

Annually, China spends 9% of its gross domestic product on
infrastructure, while India spends 3.5%, the report says. While the U.S.
doesn't face such massive infrastructure buildup, it still needs to
spend more on maintenance. It spends just .93% of its GDP, or $112.9
billion, according to the study.

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