PARIS: In an age of austerity and budget cutbacks, the deadly bridge collapse in Genoa, Italy, has put the spotlight clearly on the lack of public funding for road networks across the globe, from France and Germany, to the United States and beyond. Dilapidation everywhere A report by the World Economic Forum published late last year found that, out of 137 countries, road quality was highest in the United Arab Emirates, with Singapore in second place. Switzerland came third. Among its European partners, the Netherlands followed in fifth place, France in seventh, Germany 15th, Italy 45th and Belgium 46th. In France, a recent government-commissioned audit found that one out of every three...
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