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U.S. infrastructure spending has plummeted since 2008

Now, that’s a chart of all public construction spending, from highways to water projects to public hospitals to schools. So what if we just look at highways and roads? We get this chart:

How did this happen? States and local governments are the biggest part of the story here. They’ve historically provided the vast majority of spending for roads, highways and bridges, and they’ve been pulling back on spending since 2008 as a result of the economic downturn and requirements to balance their budgets. California’s transportation spending declined by 31 percent from 2007 to 2009, for instance. Texas’s fell by 8 percent.

At the same time, Congress hasn’t filled in the gap. There was a one-time $46 billion infusion of transportation spending in the stimulus bill. But that wasn’t enough to offset the drop at the state and local level. Meanwhile, the most recent highway bill out of Congress kept federal spending at current levels rather than increasing it.

We’ve seen various reports arguing that America’s infrastructure is in dire need of an upgrade. The American Society of Civil Engineers gave the nation’s bridges a C+ in its 2013 report card, and said that full repairs would cost $20 billion per year over the next decade, a 60 percent boost in spending. These estimates don’t always take a full account of costs and benefits, but the I-5 collapse will no doubt give these groups more ammo.

And experts say it’s typically cheaper to fix roads and bridges early on rather than wait until they get truly decrepit. That suggests now could be an apt time to invest in repairs, rather than putting them off until later. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/05/24/u-s-infrast
ructure-spending-has-plummeted-since-2008/

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Department of Transportation-Federal Highway Administration-Highway Infrastructure Investment, Recovery Act $25,830,495,643
Department of Transportation-Federal Transit Administration-Transit Capital Assistance, Recovery Act $6,624,049,951
Department of Transportation-Federal Railroad Administration-Capital Grants to the National Railroad Passenger Corporatio $1,302,101,237
Department of Transportation-Federal Aviation Administration-Grants-in-aid for Airports, Recovery Act $1,074,305,920
Department of Transportation-Office of the Secretary of Transportation-Supplemental Discretionary Grants for a National S $1,067,520,002
Department of Transportation-Federal Railroad Administration-Capital Assistance for High Speed Rail Corridors $1,055,935,249
Department of Transportation-Federal Transit Administration-Fixed Guideway Infrastructure Investment, Recovery Act $704,922,254
[-] Infrastructure $32,072,776,985
Environmental Protection Agency-State and Tribal Assistance Grants, Recovery Act $6,150,985,883
GSA-General Services Administration-Federal Buildings Fund, Recovery Act $4,769,849,362
Department of Commerce-National Telecommunication and Information Administration-Broadband Technology Opportunities Progr $3,002,043,938
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - civil program financing only-Construction, Recovery Act $2,074,065,707
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - civil program financing only-Operation and Maintenance, Recovery Act $2,036,576,348
Department of the Army-Operation and Maintenance, Army, Recovery Act $1,347,053,143
USDA-Rural Utilities Service-Distance Learning, Telemedicine, and Broadband Program $1,170,418,927
Department of the Air Force-Operation and Maintenance, Air Force, Recovery Act $1,014,165,314
USDA-Rural Utilities Service-Rural Water and Waste Disposal Program Account $841,944,920
Department of Defense-Military Construction, Defense-wide, Recovery Act $811,710,345
Department of Transportation-Federal Transit Administration-Capital Investment Grants, Recovery Act $748,225,811
USDA-Forest Service-Capital Improvement and Maintenance, Recovery Act $606,010,321
Department of the Navy-Operation and Maintenance, Navy, Recovery Act $554,928,233
Department of the Interior-National Park Service.-Construction and Major Maintenance, Recovery Act $546,142,913
GSA-Federal Buildings Fund $426,586,906
Department of the Interior-Indian Affairs (Assistant Secretary)-Construction, Recovery Act $400,770,264
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - civil program financing only-Mississippi River and Tributaries, Recovery Act $364,518,841
TRICARE Management Activity-Defense Health Program, Recovery Act $335,920,352
Department of Commerce-National Telecommunication and Information Administration-Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Program, $333,358,671
Department of Commerce-National Institute of Standards and Technology-Construction of Research Facilities, Recovery Act $325,667,075
National Science Foundation-Major Research and Equipment and Facilities Construction $276,877,520
National Guard Bureau, Office of the Chief- Operation and Maintenance, Army National Guard, Recovery Act $263,751,107
USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service-Watershed and Flood Prevention Operations, Recovery Act $262,833,340
Department of the Navy-Military Construction, Navy, Recovery Act $256,924,027
Department of Commerce-National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-Procurement, Acquisition, and Construction, Recove $244,458,233
Department of State-U.S. and Mexico International Boundary and Water Commission-Construction, IBWC, Recovery Act $208,010,896
Department of Transportation-Federal Aviation Administration-Facilities and Equipment, Recovery Act $195,213,809
Department of the Army-Military Construction, Army, Recovery Act $172,409,088
Department of the Air Force-Military Construction, Air Force, Recovery Act $167,550,756
USDA-Agricultural Research Service-Buildings and Facilities, Recovery Act $158,584,366
Department of State-Capital Investment Fund, Recovery Act $142,275,998
Department of Homeland Security-U.S. Coast Guard-Alteration of Bridges, Recovery Act $142,000,000
Department of the Interior-Bureau of Land Management-Construction, Recovery Act $139,387,896
Department of Commerce-Economic Development Administration-Economic Development Assistance Programs, Recovery Act $135,497,657
USDA-Rural Business Cooperative Service-Rural Business Program Account $132,551,696
Department of the Interior-U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service-Construction, Recovery Act $107,649,803
U.S. Marine Corps-Operation and Maintenance, Marine Corps, Recovery Act $103,665,521
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - civil program financing only-Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program, Recovery Act $99,500,043
USDA-Rural Housing Service-Rural Community Facilities Program Account $98,363,244
Department of Transportation-Maritime Administration-Assistance to Small Shipyards, Recovery Act $94,530,479
U.S. Army Reserve Command-Operation and Maintenance, Army Reserve, Recovery Act $94,344,979
Department of Homeland Security-U.S. Coast Guard-Acquisition, Construction, and Improvements $94,214,054
Federal Communications Commission-Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Program, Recovery Act $62,238,569
Air National Guard-Military Construction, Air National Guard, Recovery Act $49,861,836
Department of Defense-U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers - Construction $49,491,838
Department of Veterans Affairs-Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs / National Cemetery System-National Cemetery Administ $47,424,997
National Guard Bureau, Office of the Chief- Military Construction, Army National Guard $45,379,130
Naval Reserve Force-Operation and Maintenance, Navy Reserve, Recovery Act $44,988,504
Department of Defense-Working Capital Fund $42,234,447
USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service-Watershed Rehabilitation Program, Recovery Act $40,566,060
U.S. Marine Corps-Operation and Maintenance, Marine Corps Reserve, Recovery Act $38,034,811
Federal Communications Commission-Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, Recovery Act $35,315,010
Smithsonian Institution-Facilities Capital, Recovery Act $25,000,000
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - civil program financing only-Regulatory Program, Recovery Act $24,694,069
USDA-Office of the Secretary of Agriculture-Agriculture Buildings and Facilities and Rental Payments $23,778,666
Air National Guard-Operation and Maintenance, Air National Guard, Recovery Act $23,152,000
Department of the Navy- Operations and Maintenance, Navy $16,810,891
Department of Housing and Urban Development-Working Capital Fund - Recovery Act $14,639,089
Headquarters, Air Force Reserve-Operation and Maintenance, Air Force Reserve, Recovery Act $10,791,816
Department of Energy-Bonneville Power Marketing Administration-Construction, Rehabilitation, Operation and Maintenance We $9,865,148
Department of Veterans Affairs-Immediate Office of the Assist. Sec. - Info. & Technology-Information Technology Systems, $5,597,409
Working Capital Fund, Transportation Systems Center $4,245,102
Department of Defense-U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers - Operations and Maintenance $3,601,274
Department of State-Working Capital Fund $3,528,533

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It’s worth being very clear upfront that the I-5 bridge in question wasn’t considered “structurally deficient” in any way — the bridge collapse is being blamed on a truck bumping an overhead girder.

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