“We’re doing the things we should have done decades ago.”
At Aquarium Station, if you look up, you’ll see it: new cable, gleaming metal brackets, insulation sealed against sea air. The trains run. But the work isn’t done. Not even close.
Somewhere above the tunnel, a kid waits for his mom. A man folds the same shirt again. A firetruck rolls past a hydrant and hopes it’s got pressure.
And in Washington, a stack of signed contracts sits waiting for a signature to mean something.
Bibliography
1. American Society of Civil Engineers. 2025 Infrastructure Report Card . Reston, VA: ASCE, 2025.
2. National assessment grading U.S. infrastructure a “C” and detailing key funding gaps.
3. Boston Globe . “MBTA Blue Line Train Stuck; Passengers Evacuated.” Boston Globe , July 15, 2025.
4. Local coverage of the Blue Line cable failure and evacuation beneath Boston Harbor.
5. WGBH News. “T Will Replace Major Sections of Decades-Old Cable.” WGBH , July 16, 2025.
6. MBTA’s emergency plan to replace aging infrastructure following the tunnel incident.
7. CBS Boston. “MBTA Riders Evacuated from Blue Line Tunnel.” CBS News Boston , July 15, 2025.
8. Regional news documenting the tunnel scene and initial MBTA response.
9. Council on Foreign Relations. “The State of U.S. Infrastructure.” Backgrounder . CFR.org, 2021.
10. Explores the state of American infrastructure and compares international spending levels.
11. Gothamist . “Brooklyn Substation Explosion Strands Subway Riders.” Gothamist , December 12, 2024.
12. Coverage of a power failure that disrupted NYC subway lines and stranded commuters.
13. Alabama Department of Environmental Management. “Water Service Assessment, Prichard, Alabama.” March 2024.
14. Technical report outlining systemic deficiencies in Prichard’s water infrastructure.
15. Associated Press. “Firefighters Arrive with Empty Hose in Prichard Blaze.” AP News , April 2024.
16. Investigative report on how pipe leaks left firefighters without usable water supply.
17. Reuters . “New Naples-Bari High-Speed Rail Project Funded by EU.” Reuters , 2024.
18. Describes infrastructure expansion in Italy and travel time reductions from EU funding.
19. Kyodo News . “Japan Confronts Infrastructure Aging with Innovation.” Kyodo News , 2024.
20. Highlights Japan’s proactive approach to maintaining and upgrading aging systems.
21. MacroPolo . “High-Speed Rail in China: Economic Returns and Network Expansion.” MacroPolo.org , 2023.
22. Analyzes how China’s rail investments have spurred economic growth and connectivity.
23. Statista. “Infrastructure Spending by Country as Share of GDP, 2023.” Statista.com , 2024.
24. Visual comparison of national infrastructure investment ratios by GDP.
25. American Society of Civil Engineers. Executive Summary: 2025 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure . Reston, VA: ASCE, 2025.
26. Summary of risks, needs, and funding gaps across 18 infrastructure categories.