Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on US Infrastructure
As the world reels from the COVID-19 Pandemic, many economic organizations including the IMF predicts an outset of a recession, which could be worse than the 2008 one. It is no open secret that US infrastructure lags behind other countries on many parameters. Many blame the lack of spending; but the main problem could be resource management. There are a lot of concerns regarding the reluctance to use tools of the Fourth Industrial Age to relieve traffic congestion problems.
The WE Forum has suggested three strong measures which US must enact to solve its infrastructure woes. I am going to reiterate them here:
1. “Consolidate government authority to execute infrastructure projects
2. To prioritize projects, the US should also start using data-driven decision-making processes
3. Finally, we need to harness innovation and the Fourth Industrial Revolution to improve construction technology” (WEForum)
Since most infrastructure construction activities are shut down, there needs to be some economic stimulus from the Congress to support the all trade workers involved. Of course, the priority right now must be on the short-term problems such as testing, obtaining more ventilators & beds and responding to needs of anyone impacted by the virus. Let us see what the neat future holds for us.
An infographic showing the impact of the virus on business organizations (Image Credits: PWC)
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