ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the state of civil infrastructure in the United States (US) and presents an analysis from both economic and technical perspectives for possible future directions. It provides an economic perspective for enhancing public and private investments in American infrastructure. The chapter illustrates that there is a strong need for improved methods for identifying technical problems and designing appropriate technical solutions for ensuring a future with high quality infrastructure. Civil infrastructure includes energy, dams, waterways and harbors, water and wastewater, nuclear, manufacturing infrastructure and transportation infrastructure. America’s infrastructure is central to maintaining our quality of life, such as access to clean drinking water, greater mobility, efficient wastewater treatment, stable power supply, food and agriculture and healthcare. America’s infrastructure is getting older and suffering from increased demands, a lack of maintenance and increasing decay. The need for transportation infrastructure is as old as civilization.
