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John Oliver reports on the sorry state of US infrastructure

John Oliver reports on the sorry state of US infrastructure

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Everyone agrees: Dams, roads, and bridges are falling apart

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Bridges, dams, power grids, and roads across the US are practically crumbling under our feet, and John Oliver thinks we need to pay more attention. Yesterday on Last Week Tonight, Oliver hosted a segment on infrastructure.

61,365 US bridges are structurally deficient

Oliver says US dams are too old: "Like most Botox recipients and competitive cloggers, the age of the average dam is 52 years old, and probably has something deeply broken inside of it." Bridges are falling apart: In 2014, the US Department of Transportation reported that 61,365 bridges in the US were structurally deficient, and roads nicked with potholes and cracks are not being repaved. Oliver reports that the US Highway Trust Fund is the single largest source of highway infrastructure funding, and it's set to go bankrupt this summer unless Congress saves it.

"One of the problems is, just fixing things is not politically appealing," Oliver says, noting that politicians prefer to put their names behind the construction of new infrastructure. Labor unions, businesses, and politicians all agree that US infrastructure is a problem, but no one can agree on how to fix it.