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Imagining the Future of American Bridges | Contrary

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America’s gigantic $28 trillion economy is built atop an infrastructure network featuring some of the most impressive engineering feats in history. Everything from its 600,000 bridges and 49,000 miles of Interstate highway to the city-defining Golden Gate and Brooklyn bridges support the hundreds of millions of cars and trucks transporting millions of passengers and goods. However, a significant portion of this infrastructure is starting to age. Many of these bridges were built in the sixties and are now surpassing eighty years of age, the typical lifespan of steel and concrete constructions. Meanwhile, the US population has nearly doubled since they were built, undoubtedly adding more stress and load to some already frail bones. The coming few decades will test the resilience of America’s infrastructure and its ability to rebuild. In 2021, the American Society of Civil Engineers estimated that there is an “infrastructure investment gap” of $2.6 trillion, which if unaddressed could end

America’s gigantic $28 trillion economy is built atop an infrastructure network featuring some of the most impressive engineering feats in history. Everything from its 600,000 bridges and 49,000 miles of Interstate highway to the city-defining Golden Gate and Brooklyn bridges support the hundreds of millions of cars and trucks transporting millions of passengers and goods. However, a significant portion of this infrastructure is starting to age. Many of these bridges were built in the sixties and are now surpassing eighty years of age, the typical lifespan of steel and concrete constructions.

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