In the second in a series of reports about the nation's crumbling infrastructure, Ray Suarez takes a look at the port of New Orleans. This port is important because it lies at the juncture of the nation's largest river system and six of the most important rail routes, much of the cargo that comes into the United States goes through here first. Even before Hurricane Katrina the port faced budget shortfalls and was in need of repair and upgrade, now the situation is dire. The lock, or gate used to raise and lower the boats as they pass through the port, is too small for current loads and will not be able to deal with the increase in the flow of cargo. There is a plan to fund the upgrade of the port, but the budget has yet to materialize. Louisiana says it doesn't have the billions of dollars needed, and with the current economic downturn and the federal deficit, government officials are worried they won't be able to fund the upgrades. Quotes "We have the best God-given natural resource of all the ports in the United States and maybe the Western hemisphere, the mighty Mississippi River."-- Gary LaGrange, President and CEO, Port of New Orleans "You can't just rely on cities and states to do this. It has to be really a national imperative, because it is a part of the national economy and, in fact, the world economy."-- Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu (D), Louisiana "Shame on us if we don't keep up the infrastructure in the port of New Orleans and then the New Orleans region as a whole and in lower Louisiana on the Mississippi River."-- Gary LaGrange, President and CEO, Port of New Orleans Warm Up Questions 1. What is a port? 2. What is infrastructure? Can you name some infrastructure in your city or state? Discussion Questions 1. Why is the port of New Orleans important? 2. If you were the mayor of New Orleans how would you pay for the upgrades to the port? 3. Do you think that the local, state or federal government should pay for infrastructure projects? Why or why not? If not, who should? 4. Why do you think that infrastructure was not kept up in the United States? Do you think there are more important projects to fund? How about schools? Additional Resources Read this transcript Aging Bridges Among Country's Infrastructure Woes