The November 23 installment of 60 Minutes included a close look at the crumbling state of bridges, roads, rails, and ports in the U.S. and lamented the lack of any solution being developed by Congress. AWESOME Founder Ann Drake expressed a similar call for action in her opening remarks at the AWESOME Symposium in May of 2014.
She said, “Infrastructure has become one of the most pressing needs of our country. If we are to stay competitive as a nation and if we are to maintain our leadership role and get stronger in the future, we have important work to do in transportation infrastructure. And that means key leadership roles for men and women who excel in our field.”
The show highlighted a number of disturbing facts: Nearly 70,000 bridges (one out of nine in the U.S.) are structurally deficient and 32% of the nation’s major roads are in poor condition.