美国基础设施状况到底有多差

大家可能都听说美国的基础设施不行了。嗯，确实很多有问题。美国土木工程师协会本月重申，给美国最重要的基础设施评分D+，几乎要不及格了。

该协会每四年发布一次评估报告，传来的一直是坏消息。今年最糟的坏消息当属美国的公路状况。报告指出，要想彻底整修公路网络，今后10年可能要花2万亿美元资金。

为什么要修路，可不只是为了让路面平整。报告指出：

• 美国州际公路的拥堵路段超过五分之二。2014年，交通堵塞导致的时间浪费和燃料损失达1600亿美元。

• 五分之一的人行道状况很差，需要修缮的道路非常多，而且越等越多。

• 2015年，交通事故死亡人数同比上升7%，达到35092人，而之前几年死亡数字一直在下降。

唐纳德•特朗普打算向基础设施投入大量资金，或许能解一些燃眉之急。但他的方案不是直接拨款，而是修建自负盈亏的基础设施，比如收费公路，这引发了一些担忧。许多专家支持修缮现有道路，虽然没有能创收的大项目吸引人，但长远来看可能节省很多纳税人的钱。（财富中文网）

译者：Charlie

审校：夏林

You’ve heard it before: America’s infrastructure is failing. Well, almost. The American Society of Civil Engineers this month reiterated its nearly failing grade for the country’s vital infrastructure: a D+.

The ASCE report comes out once every four years, and has become a familiar bearer of bad news. But the state of the country’s roads were the standout piece of bad news this year—the report found that $2 trillion would be needed over the next 10 years to get U.S. roads back in fighting shape.

And there’s more reason to do that than just a smoother drive. From the report:

• More than two out of every five miles of America’s urban interstates are congested and traffic delays cost the country $160 billion in wasted time and fuel in 2014.

• One out of every five miles of highway pavement is in poor condition and our roads have a significant and increasing backlog of rehabilitation needs.

• After years of decline, traffic fatalities increased by 7% from 2014 to 2015, with 35,092 people dying on America’s roads.

Donald Trump’s plan to spend big on infrastructure may offer some much-needed relief. However, there are some are concerns over his plan to try to build infrastructure like toll roads that would pay for itself, rather than just putting up the money. What many experts are arguing for is far less sexy than revenue-generating mega-projects, but could save more money for taxpayers in the long-term: repairing the roads that already exist.