An exploding steam pipe under a busy street in Midtown Manhattan this week dramatizes potentially dangerous decay in aging public works systems across the nation that will require tens of billions of dollars to fix.From New York to Atlanta, cities officials are raising utility rates, issuing bonds and trying to modernize public works systems that are straining under the demand of ever-increasing populations. The USA is likely to add about 100 million more people by 2040.
NYC: Residents told air is safePHOTOS: Blast rocks Big AppleVIDEO: New Yorkers shocked, confusedON DEADLINE: Media coverage from Midtown
The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that $1.6 trillion is needed over a five-year period to modernize the nation's water systems, dams, runways, roads and bridges but that only about $1 trillion is being invested.
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