By Robert Epstein and Jacqueline Greenberg Vogt (September 20, 2017, 10:45 AM EDT) -- The country's crumbling infrastructure is a national crisis, and the Trump administration has announced ambitious plans to rebuild it.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, almost half of the nation's major roads are in poor or mediocre condition and one-third of its bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. Sewer and water systems throughout the country are decrepit and in dire need of upgrading. The nation's airports are antiquated and air traffic control systems are obsolete, leading to chronic flight delays and near-collisions on runways. The American Society of Civil engineers estimates that $4.6 trillion dollars is required just to...