Roads, bridges get ‘D’ grade from engineers
Mar 20, 2013, 10:25 AM | Updated: 11:22 am
The report concludes that 67 percent of roads in Washington are in poor or mediocre condition. (Image courtesy WSDOT)
(Image courtesy WSDOT)
Here’s another dire assessment of the condition of roadways and transit service. A report card on the state of our nation’s roads, bridges and transit service and several other categories of public services gives an overall grade of ‘D-plus.’
The 2013 report of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) concludes that 67 percent of roads in Washington are in poor or mediocre condition.
The report estimates the bad roads cost about $272 per motorist in extra repairs and operating costs, about $1.3 billion in Washington.
Compiled every four years, the report estimates that five percent of bridges in Washington, 366 out of 7,840, are rated structurally deficient.
The report rates 16 infrastructure categories, including drinking water systems, ports, mass transit and the electric grid.
Not surprisingly, the organization of civil engineers is calling for better funding of transportation systems, noting that the Washington gasoline tax has not increased in four years. Overall, the ASCE calls for an investment in infrastructure improvements nationwide of $3.6 trillion by 2020.
