For example, the San Bernardino Freeway just east of Los Angeles was originally constructed in 1946 as part of Route 66 (now part of I-10). In 1965 it became the first highway in the country to be continuously diamond grinded to restore the surface. This was done again in 1984 and in 1997. Today, after 60 years of service, the pavement carries more than 200,000 vehicles each day.

In recent years the importance of longevity has become more of an issue because funding for highway infrastructure purposes has diminished. As tempting as short-term fixes are for front-end costs, long-term costs end up being more. Concrete is the better alternative.

The ASCE grade for our nation's airports is “D+”—only a little better than for roadways. The problem is that passengers boarding aircraft are expected to surpass 1 billion within the next 10 years. Funding is provided by the Aviation Trust Fund (ATF), which Congress enacts. They already have approved a spending package of $3.8 billion for 2008, more than was spent in 2007. It is likely that $15.8 billion will be spent over the next four years.

Having an adequate supply of drinking water is tied to wastewater management. The ASCE gives both drinking water and wastewater treatment a “D-”. One problem is that many existing facilities are aging and need to be replaced. It's estimated that $11 billion annually is needed to upgrade our system but nowhere near this amount currently is allocated. Congress recently authorized $23 billion for water resource projects that include drinking water, wastewater, and flood control but the legislation doesn't authorize funds for the projects so it remains to be seen how many approved projects actually will have money to proceed.

Each year billions of gallons of untreated wastewater are sent to our nation's waterways. Some of this is caused by storms that overflow treatment facilities. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that $390 billion must be spent over the next 20 years to replace treatment facilities, build new ones, and control runoff. But in 2006 only $730 million was spent—less than .2% of what is needed.

Many of the maintenance items for our infrastructure relate to the productivity of our businesses and industries. Barge traffic on our waterways can move 58 semiloads of material at one-tenth the cost. But the 257 locks on our 12,000 miles of waterways are aging and need attention. The ASCE says that 50% of them are functionally obsolete.

There are now more than 3500 unsafe nonfederally owned dams in the U.S. that could cause the loss of life if they failed. The ASCE says $10.1 billion is needed to fix those problems over the next 12 years.

On Sept. 24, the Senate passed a $23 billion bill authorizing water resource projects. This includes $3.5 billion for work on New Orleans levees and other flood regions in Louisiana. But again, a future spending bill will be needed to provide the funds for these projects.

As one of the categories of our infrastructure, schools are near the top of the list of necessary funding to build, replace, or perform rehab work. The ASCE gives our schools a “D” and estimates that as much as $268 billion is needed to repair and upgrade them. Funding for schools is more complicated, however, because local, state, and federal funds are involved. Contractors specializing in school construction could be busy as monies are appropriated.

There are many more questions than answers at this point, most of which have to do with where funds will come from to pay for the work. We might wish to blame the current administration and congress for the problems we now face. But it's clear that past governments chose not to address infrastructure issues either. That's why the present need is so great. The I-35W bridge collapse has forced the issue, bringing up the following questions without ready answers.

• Can we afford to spend $1.6 trillion on our infrastructure?
• Can we spend less in other areas of government in order to spend more for infrastructure repairs?
• Where will the money come from to do this work? Nobody wants increased taxes.
• The ASCE report card breaks infrastructure needs into 15 different areas. How should available funds be distributed?
• What should the balance be between repairs and improvements? Can we only allocate funds for repair?

However this problem is addressed, public awareness could force action. As the most used commodity in the world, concrete will play a strong role in the upgrading of our infrastructure. Hopefully it will be more durable and sustainable, making our infrastructure robust for the next 100 years.

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