Annual Infrastructure Maintenance Deficit: $1.6 Trillion and Counting

The Urban Land Institute and Ernst & Young have just published the latest must-read on the topic of lagging infrastructure investment in the United States. The U.S. faces a $1.6 trillion deficit in infrastructure for transportation, energy, water and wastewater through 2010 just for maintenance, concludes “Infrastructure 2007: A Global Perspective.”

Says Dale Ann Reiss, an Ernst & Young executive and vice chairman of the ULI, a land-use tank: “At some point, the system is going to grind to a halt.” (The Wall Street Journal summarizes the report today on page B-4. You can acccess the ULI summary here.)

Writes the Journal:

The study urges leaders and planners to reconsider the way U.S. cities are built, with hub-and-spoke systems to better handle mass transit. It also suggests infill housing and mixed-use development to reduce dependence on cars, especially in Sun Belt cities such as Houston, where the average commuter already drives 39 miles a day.

Some interesting factoids…

Transportation costs paid directly by user:

  • Driving—98 percent
  • Transit—36 percent (Urban areas over 1 million)
  • Parking—1–4 percent

Cost of providing transportation:

  • Local bus—$0.76/ passenger mile
  • Heavy rail—$0.49/ passenger mile
  • Driving —$0.37/ passenger mile