Canada's crumbling infrastructure needs billions of dollars worth of basic maintenance, and that’s not counting the billions more needed to upgrade and modernize it. The CBC News special report, The Big Fix, goes into communities across the country to take a closer look at what's being done, what's needed most, and how Canadians will pay for it all.

You set the budget How would you finance the Big Fix? Make the big infrastructure choices facing Canada's cities

With stories and coverage on CBC Television, CBC News Network, CBC Radio One, CBCNews.ca and the CBC News Mobile App, the series looks at infrastructure needs across Canada, including municipal sewer and water systems, crumbling bridges, and gridlocked transportation systems in our cities.

While the challenges are great, The Big Fix also presents solutions and success stories — driven by technological innovation — and calculates the cost of “the big fix.”

The Big Fix highlights:

Sunday, Nov. 20

New federal standards soon to be announced for sewage systems will require the replacement of 25 per cent of the country’s waste-water treatment plants. Municipalities are worried about how they’re going to pay for it all, when they can barely keep up with paying for maintaining the aging infrastructure. Margo McDiarmid reports on The National and on CBC Radio One’s The World This Weekend, and Max Paris will have a feature report on CBCnews.ca.

Monday, Nov. 21

THE BIG FIX Map: Canada's infrastructure blockbusters What's being built and big problems to be solved

CBC News has the results of an exclusive CBC News/Leger Marketing national poll that asks Canadians just how willing they’d be to pay tolls. You may be surprised by the results. See the results on News Network and CBCNews.ca.

On The National, Chris Brown travels to the Yukon to see how climate change is having an impact on infrastructure there, as rapidly melting permafrost is causing roads to buckle and buildings to sink.

Online, visitors to CBCNews.ca can browse a map showing a selection of the country's biggest and most-needed infrastructure projects. They can also try the interactive calculator game “How do you make The Big Fix?” and determine how best to allocate infrastructure funds to needed projects.

Tuesday, Nov. 22

The Commuter Crunch: gridlock is taking a major toll on Canadians. As individuals, we’re stressed out. As a nation, we’re losing productivity. Gridlock has an impact on our quality of life, our economic performance and increasingly, our global reputation. Phillip Lee-Shanok examines the issue for CBC Radio’s World Report. David Michael Lamb weighs in on The World at Six and CBCnews.ca, while CBC News Toronto’s Dwight Drummond reports for The National.

See CBCNews.ca for an analysis of how willing Canadians are to pay tolls, and ways tolls can improve the congestion on our road system.

Also check out CBCNews.ca’s interactive map of major infrastructure projects across the country, plus a feature comparison of Canada’s top 10 costliest infrastructure projects.

Wednesday, Nov. 23

Karen Pauls reports for World Report and The World This Hour on efforts to build better, longer lasting bridges, while Marisa Dragani follows the story for The National and CBC News Network.

In Boston, David Common reports for CBC News Network on that city’s massive infrastructure project known as The Big Dig, and files for CBC Radio One’s Dispatches on new research at MIT on self-repairing concrete and cement that eats and stores carbon dioxide.

On CBCNews.ca, get an in-depth analysis of how much of our municipal drinking water is simply leaking away through faulty pipes underground, and what it's costing us.

Saturday, Nov. 26

The Big Fix concludes on Saturday, Nov. 26, with a look at First Nations infrastructure needs and how innovative partnerships between aboriginal communities and provincial governments are leading to real progress. You can find features on CBCNews.ca and News Network.