America's infrastructure is full of cracks, leaks and holes—in effect, coming apart at the seams—and is getting worse, An analysis by the American Society of Civil Engineers says the condition of a dozen key infrastructure categories showed no improvement—and in many cases worsened—in the past two years. Of course, fixing what's wrong could trigger a huge resurgence in construction-related demand for steel plates, bars, beams and girders and such nonferrous metals as aluminum and copper bars, rods and wire. Overall, the civil engineers recommended an investment of $1.6 trillion over five years to fix myriad problems. The organization's president, Thomas Jackson, says roads and bridges are substandard, 75% of school buildings are inadequate, and the need for updated power grids was highlighted by the massive August blackout in the Northeast and Midwest. Their report says investment in energy transmission has fallen by $115 million annually since 1975 to $2 billion in 2000, from $5 billion a quarter century earlier—so that line grid capacity hasn't been upgraded even though demand has continued to grow. The engineers want Congress to increase the user fee on gasoline by 6¢/gallon to help pay for the needed infrastructure projects.