California is one of the largest states in the US. It is number one on the population
list and the third largest state by land mass. California alone would have the 5th largest
economy in the world if it was separate from the United States, outperforming entire countries
such as the United kingdom. California’s infrastructure provides essential services
to its 39 million residents each day and supports the state’s thriving economy. Infrastructure
refers to a broad array of assets, facilities, and systems that are essential to the state's
day to day operation. Roads, bridges, and transport infrastructure play a crucial role
in California's thriving economy. Other types of infrastructure include water treatment
facilities, and power supply lines. But over the past few decades, many factors have led
the state’s infrastructure network to deteriorate. In 2019, California’s infrastructure report
card graded the state with a c minus, pointing out flaws in pretty much every single category.
From Bridges to transit infrastructure, the report revealed that there were serious issues
with California's infrastructure network. Over the past few decades, California's population
has increased ast a significant pace, not allowing the antiquated infrastructure to
keep up.
One of the biggest concerns was bridges. California’s bridges cross a variety of terrains including
arid deserts, marine environments, and higher elevations near the mountains.. As of december
of 2017, there were around 26,000 bridges in the state of california, and a significant
number of them are in extremely poor condition. Reports have detailed that out of the 26 thousand
bridges, 65% of them are in good condition, 30% are in fair condition, and the remaining
5% are in poor condition. Although 5% is not much, it's still over 1 thousand 300 bridges
that are either structily impaired or unable to be used. Many bridges were designed for
a 50 year lifespan before becoming obsolete, but today more than 50% of California's bridges
have exceeded the intended 50 year lifespan. In addition to the crumbling bridge network
across the state, Roads and Highways have also cost the government billions of dollars
to maintain. The state also has over 14 million registered vehicles on the road, more than
any other state in the US. It's no surprise that roads are one of the most important factors
in California's infrastructure network, and they are one of the biggest concerns in the
state. Most of these roads are maintained by the state of california, as they run on
state owned highways. The main infrastructure that is failing is the major highways that
run throughout the state as only 19% of them are in good condition, with the remaining
71% being close to poor condition. This is one of the essential services California's
population needs on a daily basis, so this should be the priority when fixing the infrastructure
right? Well, in addition to these major issues, there are many more major problems the state
is facing such as failing water supply lines and wastewater management. But instead of
going on about every issue that needs to be resolved, we need to focus on one main question-
How can the infrastructure be fixed. . First, we need to know What is causing California's
infrastructure to fail, and what's preventing the necessary funding to fix it? As we already
know much of the infrastructure network is past its intended 50 year lifespan, which
has contributed to it deteriorating over time. The state’s weather and natural environment
has also played a role in failing water supply lines and inland waterways. But one main issue
that hasn't been talked about is the funding California has received in the past. Between
the years of 2000 and 2010, California spent 102 billion dollars on infrastructure. The
money was spent on maintaining existing infrastructure and beginning new projects. But even after
all the money was spent, it had seemed that nothing was fixed. Roads and bridges were
still deteriorating and california’ population continued to increase at the same time. California
is also known for experiencing many natural disasters which only damage the infrastructure
even more. The overall report card showed little to no improvement over the past 15
years, with some categories even getting worse over time. The entire grade for the state
also showed no improvement even after hundreds of billions of dollars were spent. So where
does the state and the government go from here. With no improvement in sight, how can
the infrastructure be fixed? Now that the state and government knows what's causing
the infrastructure to fail, they may have come up with a solution to fix all of the
problems.
Finally after many years of mismanaged funds and objectives, California will receive nearly
850 million dollars specialized for bridge repairs under Federal Bipartisan Infrastructure
law. The money is coming from the 1.2 trillion dollar infrastructure bill that was signed
in late 2021.This year the state will receive close to 850 million dollars with an estimated
4.2 billion spent over the next 5 years. While the government funding intends to solve some
of the state’s infrastructure prob;ems, the new funding won't be able to fix it all.
The fund is only meant to fix failing bridges, and not contribute to any of the other problems
the state is facing. The state as a whole is expected to receive more than 40 billion
dollars, which will be split among the rest of the failing infrastructure. 25 billion
dollars is reserved to fix roads and highways, and 9 billion for improvements to public transit.
This basically opens the door to solving all of California's vast infrastructure problems
by providing one of the most important steps which is the right amount of funding to get
the job done.
I have a lot of confidence that this plan will be successful, as California's current
infrastructure is in its worst state in history.. Decades ago, infrastructure did not seem like
a priority when the state received government funding but years later, it's become clear
that it's an essential step to prepare for a larger population in the future. Now with
the right amount of funding, the state has the available resources to fix the vast array
of problems its residents face every day. While funds and projects have been mismanaged
in the past, this plan may resolve all the issues the state is facing, and set it up
for a bright future ahead.
When taking a look at the grade for the entire country as whole, we can see that California
is not the only state that is facing an infrastructure crisis. Across the United States, from Bridges
to Wastewater treatment, each category is nearly a failing grade. US infrastructure
as a whole is just as bad as California's and the 1.2 trillion dollar plan will end
up benefiting all states in the end. California has been affected the most because of its
large population. Over the next decade, we will see how the trillion dollar plan plays
out and if the infrastructure problems across the country will end up being solved.
California’s Failing infrastructure is a very serious problem that will need to be
solved within the next few decades. As California grows in population, its infrastructure is
not in condition to adequately support an even larger population. Projections show that
by 2030, California’s population is estimated to increase by 5 million people. At the minimum,
that's hundreds of thousands of more vehicles on the roads, and residents using the state’s
water supply lines and public transit. A lot is on the line for California as many factors
are continuing to cause their infrastructure network to deteriorate year after year. If
all goes to plan, and California receives over 40 billion dollars in government funding,
they may be able to solve the biggest problem they are facing, and prepare for a larger
population in the future. Thank you for watching and please subscribe if you enjoyed the video.