Two of the Big Three on transportation and infrastructure reform in America, Gov. Ed Rendell, Democrat of Pennsylvania, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Republican of California (they make up the group, Building America's Future, along with Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Independent of New York City), in a conversation on that very same subject -- calling for a reprioritization of infrastructure development and planning throughout the country. Not only will it modernize infrastructure, they say, bringing it into the 21st century, but it will also quicken economic recovery. By that standard, America is already a decade behind.

Blueprint America -- with Weekend America -- in a report on modern day gas prospecting in the hills of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Gas exploration has been happening in Pennsylvania since the 1800s. However, a new technology and new price incentives have made possible the exploration of the Marcellus shale. It is a geological formation – the size of Greece – stretching from New York to West Virginia and holding what could become the nation’s most prolific natural gas reservoir.

In Pennsylvania, there are nearly 6,000 bridges in disrepair – the most in the nation. According to the Federal Highway Administration, 39 percent of bridges in the state are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. In the first segment of a five part series on infrastructure in the U.S., NewsHour Senior Correspondent Ray Suarez reports with Blueprint America on Pennsylvania's aging bridges.

Gov. Ed Rendell (D., PA) is an advocate for reforming infrastructure policy and practice in both his state and throughout the rest of America. In Pennsylvania, Gov. Rendell has proposed varying measures to improve the state’s infrastructure, which rates particularly poor in road and bridge quality, from tolling to privatizing public roads.