President Obama announced a $50 billion package last week to improve America's roads, railways, and more. And there couldn't be a better time to do it, says Ben Adler at Newsweek. "From the New Orleans levees breaking to the Minneapolis bridge collapsing," it's become increasingly apparent that our infrastructure is in "disrepair." Here is a look at some of the numbers behind what needs to be done:
$2.2 trillion
Total investment needed in next five years to bring America's infrastructure up to snuff, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers
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$1.57
Amount returned to the economy from every taxpayer dollar spent on infrastructure, according to Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's
6%
Share of Obama's original $800 billion stimulus package earmarked for transportation infrastructure. About 35 percent of the money has been spent, to date
4 million
Miles of roads in the U.S.
90,000
Miles found to be "in dangerous disrepair" in a 2010 study
150,000
Miles of roads to be fixed or upgraded under Obama's newly $50 billion infrastructure stimulus
$350 to $750
Amount each driver in America's largest cities pays in annual vehicle maintenance costs related to poor road conditions
600,000
Number of bridges in the U.S.
12%
Proportion of those bridges — or 71,000 — found to be "in dangerous disrepair," according to a 2010 study
140,000
Miles of railway track in the national freight rail network
4,000
Miles of railway track to be refurbished under Obama's proposed infrastructure stimulus
$59 billion
Total amount it would cost to bring America's rail transit network into a state of good repair, according to the Federal Transit Administration
Miles of true high-speed railway in United States
$8 billion
Amount the U.S. plans to spend on developing high speed rail by 2012
$300 billion
Estimated amount China plans to spend over the same timeframe
16,000
Number of miles China's high speed rail network will eventually cover
74%
Increase in annual spending on transportation projects recommended by the Congressional Budget Office in 2008, but unheeded by Congress
