U.S. Infrastructure Gets “D+”; 24% of MD Roads In Poor Condition

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has graded the U.S.’s infrastructure with a D+, estimating that it would take an additional $2 trillion by 2025 to bring that grade to a B. The Infrastructure Report Card is one of the most frequently cited reports on the condition of infrastructure in the country. The U.S. has either received a D or D+ in every Report Card issued since 1998.

Information on Infrastructure in Maryland is available here. Key facts include:

  • 5.80% (308) of the bridges are structurally deficient
  • 82 high hazard dams
  • $6.9 billion in drinking water infrastructure needs over the next 20 years
  • $9.92 billion in wastewater infrastructure needs over the next 20 years
  • 154,507,328 annual unlinked passenger trips via transit systems including bus, transit, and commuter trains
  • 32,037 miles of public roads, with 24% in poor condition
  • $550 per motorist per year in costs from driving on roads in need of repair

The ASCE Maryland Chapter also issues a Report Card for Maryland’s Infrastructure, last updated in 2011.

From Governing: 

But it’s not all bad news: Some types of infrastructure have somewhat improved.

Rail, for example, went from a “C+” to a “B,” the highest grade for any type of infrastructure. That largely reflects the health of private freight railroads, which spent $27.1 billion to improve their infrastructure in 2015 alone, according to ASCE.

Other areas that showed progress in the report were hazardous waste, inland waterways, levees, ports, schools and wastewater.

Meanwhile, transit systems earned the lowest mark in the report card, falling to a “D-” from its previous “D” grade. “Despite increasing demand, the nation’s transit systems have been chronically underfunded, resulting in aging infrastructure and a $90 billion rehabilitation backlog,” the group noted. Several systems — particularly those in New York, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco — are struggling with increased rider demand, long-neglected infrastructure and uncertain funding.

Solid waste infrastructure, along with parks and other recreational facilities, also got worse. …

“In many parts of the country,” the group wrote, “recycling and composting are not occurring due to a lack of market need for recyclable materials, many Americans’ lack of desire to sort and separate waste, and the cost associated with sorting out recyclables at collection facilities.”

MACo has prioritized investment in local infrastructure as one of its core initiatives this session. Learn more about the initiative here and on Conduit Street at Local Infrastructure Fast Track (LIFT4MD).

To support local infrastructure investment in Maryland, Let your senators know you support SB 586 – Local Infrastructure Fast Track for Maryland Act, and
let your delegates know you support HB 1322 – Local Infrastructure Fast Track for Maryland Act!