ASCE says U.S. infrastructure investment is “treading water”

bridge constructionAfter giving American infrastructure a grade of D+, the American Society of Civil Engineers says that the country’s investment planned through 2020 will fall $1.6 trillion short of what is needed to maintain existing infrastructure.

According to a report from Bloomberg, the ASCE recommends funding be increased by 80 percent to $3.6 trillion in order to simply place U.S. facilities in a state of “good repair” by 2020.

“We’re investing in infrastructure, we’re just not investing enough,” Greg DiLoreto, ASCE president told Bloomberg. “We’re treading water, and we need to improve.”

The ASCE warns that travel delays, power outages and water outages will reach ac combined cost of $1.8 trillion by 2020 without increased investment. The group also says that the country runs the risk of losing 3.5 million jobs and $3.1 trillion in gross domestic product by 2020.

To avert those losses, the ASCE recommends spending an extra $157 billion each year on infrastructure.