By Garrick Hoffman

August 1, 2007, remains a date of haunting memories for many.

During the evening rush hour in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the nearly 2,000 foot-long Mississippi River Bridge, carrying scores of commuters, shuddered and collapsed into the river. The collapse killed 13 people and wounded 145 others.

In the wake of the destruction, the alarm was sounded to examine all infrastructure in the states. It also provoked the question: What other components of our infrastructure are being neglected, have grown feeble, and/or are potentially doomed to collapse? This includes roads, highways, bridges, ports, tunnels, and dams.

According to an article published by The Economist on June 28 of this year, “Much of what was built [during the post-World War II infrastructure boom] was only designed to last for 50 years and now needs replacing. That includes almost half the country’s bridges.” In a 2011 report presented in the same article, America was listed behind eight other countries in road investment. We spent around 0.5% of GDP on roads. Public construction investment constitutes around 1.5% of our GDP today.

Currently, the U.S. ranks 19th in regards to the quality of its infrastructure, the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report claims. In the annual Infrastructure Report Card issued by The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the U.S. received a D+, stressing that “the investment shortfall will grow to $1.1 trillion by 2020.” It also claims that we already currently need $1.66 trillion to spend on infrastructure. The Report Card goes on to say that “aging and unreliable infrastructure will increase costs by $1.2 trillion for businesses, and $611 billion for households” under current investment trends. If we spend $157 billion a year on this critical need, the Report Card says, we can eschew tremendous losses in GDP, consumer spending, and jobs, among many other things.

Since the 2008 recession, states have aimed their focus on lingering debt payment, rather than on big capital projects. Even with home sales increases, job growth, and GDP augmentation since the recession, our investment in infrastructure continues to fall short. Economists argue, however, that with money being allocated for infrastructure replenishment, we would see job growth, business investment, and an overall healthy economy.

With many other of our nation’s problems stealing the spotlight, infrastructure continues to be cast into the shadows of our awareness. And if these weary structures continue to be neglected, we will see more and more plights arise – not only at the cost of the economy, but, as the Mississippi River Bridge collapse showcased, at the cost of human lives.