I live near Seattle. The bridge you're talking about is actually a modern replacement that has failed well before reasonable expectations. I don't recall hearing a root cause, but I don't believe anyone was expecting this or that it's a results of lack of maintenance.

From what I understand, the West Seattle bridge is not failing due to lack of maintenance, but rather due to constructions defects. No amount of maintenance could have prevent the current problems.

> That’s probably the first of many infrastructure debts coming due

The problem isn't related to infrastructure alone. US debt is already above $24 trillion [1]. The Federal Reserve just put $6 trillion on its balance sheet [2] that is unlikely to ever be unwound. We've already spent far into the future. It's important to allocate capital intelligently in the near term to ensure disaster is averted when defaults occur en masse decades from now. I'd rather fix all of our existing infrastructure that gets a D+ rating [3] and then default on that debt in the future; we still get to keep what has already been built. The debt is "funny money".

A better title, with more weight towards the financial situation, would've been "We've Built A Civilization We Can't Afford." We have to stop kicking the can, but you need leaders with the fortitude to tackle these painful issues, and an electorate that will support them. Is that likely? I wouldn't bet my own money on that.

[1] https://www.thebalance.com/national-debt-by-year-compared-to...

[2] https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/WALCL

[3] https://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/

> just got cut off for many years due to failing infrastructure

But not because Seattle hasn't paid its dues, but due to an engineering fault / design problem. The bridge was expected to last another 40 years and was being regularly inspected (which is how the issue was found). The bridge was built in '84 and inspected multiple times a year.