The Biden administration has pledged a $2 trillion investment in the nation’s infrastructure. With century-old water systems and schools vulnerable to earthquakes, there is no shortage of need.

The Brent Spence Bridge on the Ohio-Kentucky border near Cincinnati.Credit…Maddie McGarvey for The New York Times

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By Rick Rojas

Engineers say that when infrastructure works, most people do not even think about it. But they recognize it when they turn on a faucet and water does not come out, when they see levees eroding or when they inch through traffic, the driver’s awareness of the highway growing mile after creeping mile.

President Biden has announced an ambitious $2 trillion infrastructure plan that would pump huge sums of money into improving the nation’s bridges, roads, public transportation, railways, ports and airports.

The plan faces opposition from Republicans and business groups, who point to the enormous cost and the higher corporate taxes that Mr. Biden has proposed to pay for it.

Still, leaders in both parties have long seen infrastructure as a possible unifying issue. Urban and rural communities, red and blue states, the coasts and the middle of the country: All are confronting weak and faltering infrastructure.

“It’s a dire need,” said Greg DiLoreto, a former president of the American Society of Civil Engineers, which publishes an extensive report card on the subject every four years.

The 2020 report gave the country a grade of C-minus, a slight improvement after two decades of Ds. Far more needs to be done, Mr. DiLoreto said: “It’s a terrible report card to take home to your folks.”

Roadways and bridges are still in use decades after the end of their projected life spans. Sewer and water systems are aged and decaying. And a changing climate threatens to worsen old vulnerabilities and expose new ones.

In the broad contours of the plan released by the Biden administration, specific proposals and figures are given for some of these infrastructure needs. The plan, for instance, proposes an extra $115 billion to modernize bridges, highways and roads that are in “most critical need of repair.” But other projects, such as levee systems, are not explicitly mentioned, and it is unclear how they might factor into the proposal.

We took a look at seven examples of urgent infrastructure vulnerabilities across the country, ranging from specific projects to broader problems.

Deteriorating rail tunnels under the Hudson River

Connecting New York City to New Jersey

The 111-year-old tunnels used by commuter trains and Amtrak have deteriorated rapidly since Hurricane Sandy flooded them with salt water in 2012.

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