North Carolina’s public infrastructure may not be able to support the state’s growing population, according to a report recently released by the North Carolina section of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
The ASCE Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, released every four years, evaluates the country’s roads, bridges, railways, and other public infrastructure. The most recent report was issued in March 2005, and gave the nation a dismal cumulative grade of D.
With an overall grade of C-, North Carolina comes in with a performance just above the national mark. Among the state’s infrastructure categories, its rail system earned the highest grade, a B-. On the other end of the scale, dams and roads only scored D’s, and airports a D+.
The purpose of the North Carolina Infrastructure Report Card, which was funded by a state public affairs grant, was three-fold: to provide a summary of the current conditions of the state’s infrastructure; to establish performance benchmarks for evaluating the past and planning for the future; and to educate the public, state and local officials and policymakers on the ability of the infrastructure to meet demand.