The road taken: the history and future of America's infrastructure

The road taken : givens, choices, forks, sighs

The road not taken : words, reports, and grades

Roads : dirt, stone, wood, concrete, asphalt

Diverged : transcontinental journeys and interstate dreams

Yellow : center lines, stop signs, traffic lights

Could not travel : earthquakes, envy, and embarrassments

In the undergrowth : elevateds, subways, and engineers

Just as fair : location, location, location

and financing

Perhaps the better claim : iconic, signature, and stunning spans

Because it was : guardrails, medians, and Jersey barriers

Grassy and wanted wear : streets, lawns, speed bumps, potholes

The passing there : sidewalks, curbs, gutters, horses, pavements

Had worn them really : quality, shoddiness, and survivor bias

About the same : good enough bridges and bad enough tools

Lay in leaves : triage, budgets, and choices, again

Trodden black : corruption, graft, waste, fraud, abuse

For another day : trust funds, fuel taxes, and politics

How way leads on to way : economics, wrong turns, and political choices

Ever come back : pedestrians, preservationists, parks

Telling this with a sigh : public-private partnerships : plusses and minuses

Ages and ages hence : smart cars and pothole-free roads.