More on Our Declining Infrastructure

In my current cover story in the magazine, I quote an observation about the genealogy of America's physical infrastructure -- roads, bridges, water and sewer systems:

"Stephen Flynn points out that the physical infrastructure of big East Coast cities was mainly built by the 1880s; of the industrial Midwest by World War I; and of the West Coast by 1960. "It was advertised to last 50 years, and overengineered so it might last 100," he said. "Now it's running down. When a pothole swallows an SUV, it's treated as freak news, but it shows a water system that's literally collapsing beneath us." (Surface cave-ins often reflect a sewer or water line that has leaked or collapsed below.)"

From reader R.B., in Canada, this very nice WatermainBreak clock, which shows how widespread the problem actually is. Also, a YouTube video, here and below, of what happened in Baltimore last month when the water lines gave way: 



Unbeknownst to me, my longtime friend and even longer-time China hand Orville Schell has been writing an article on the parts of America that are falling behind the rest of the world. It appears today in the LA Times. Let's get this country fixed up!