Engineers are known for meticulous, methodical problem-solving, and this approach is paying off for the American Society of Civil Engineers. Launching its first report card on U.S. infrastructure in 1998, the society continues to issue new ratings in 16 infrastructure categories every four years, and it has been making significant improvements in the process. The newest report is intriguing and fun to read—it's not just doom and gloom.
The overall grade in ASCE's 2013 Report Card for America's Infrastructure managed to inch up from a cumulative D in 2009 to overall GPA of D+ this year. That may not seem like much to most people, but considering the vast scale of this nation's infrastructure, it is significant. And the assessment clearly documents the tie between investments and the infrastructure categories that are improving.