A scorecard released Tuesday by the American Society of Civil Engineers gave Louisiana a C- for the quality of its infrastructure, after finding that 62 percent of the state's roads were of mediocre to poor condition, 3,815 bridges were structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, 33 dams were considered "high hazard," and drinking water and wastewater systems will need $10.9...
A scorecard released Tuesday by the American Society of Civil Engineers gave Louisiana a C- for the quality of its infrastructure, after finding that 62 percent of the state's roads were of mediocre to poor condition, 3,815 bridges were structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, 33 dams were considered "high hazard," and drinking water and wastewater systems will need $10.9 billion in improvements during the next 20 years.
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The United States ranked D+ in the latest American Society of Civil Engineers ranking of infrastructure needs.
The ranking is part of the engineering organization's infrastructure report card for the nation and the state, which is issued every four years. Louisiana's state ranking is based on an infrastructure report produced by ASCE's Louisiana chapter last year.
That gap will increase to $4.7 trillion by 2040, the report predicts.
The bulk of the nation's infrastructure needs are in the form of surface transportation, the report said, with $1.7 trillion needed by 2020, and only $877 billion expected in funding through that period.
"This is not a report card that anybody would be proud of," said Kam Movassaghi, a member of Louisiana's ASCE chapter and a former secretary of the state Department of Transportation and Development. "The nation as a whole is in trouble. Our infrastructure is the backbone of our economy."
Movassaghi said that Louisiana has effectively outlined how it plans to deal with some portions of its infrastructure problems, including coastal restoration and flood protection, with its 50-year, $50 billion coastal master plan, approved by the Legislature last year.
But that same kind of comprehensive effort needs to be aimed at all the state's infrastructure needs, he said.
"If trucks can't get from point A to point B, who's going to pay the extra cost? You and I," said Movassaghi, who oversaw the production of the state report. "If the lights go out, who suffers? Businesses. The effects of poor infrastructure show up in our gross domestic product and our ability to compete."
In Louisiana, the poor condition of some state roads result in an average of $1.2 billion in vehicle maintenance and repairs, or $408 per motorist, the report said. Louisiana has 61,335 miles of public roads.
The report also points out that Louisiana's 20-cent per gallon gasoline tax, much of which goes to road repairs, hasn't increased in 22 years.
As for bridges, Louisiana ranks 4th nationally for the most bridge surface area, at 15.4 million square feet of bridge deck. But the state also ranks in the bottom third of states for federal funding of bridge maintenance, repair and replacement, the report said. The number of deficient bridges in Louisiana is more than the total number of bridges in 10 other states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
By 2015, about 31 percent of Louisiana's bridges will be more than 50 years old, and by 2025, more than half of all current bridges will be more than 50 years old, the report said. Meanwhile, the state is 44th in the nation in both trucking fees and gas taxes and 46th in auto registration fees.
Like with the recommendations for streets, the state report recommends increases in gasoline and diesel taxes, motor vehicle sales taxes and registration fees to pay for bridge maintenance and replacement. It also recommends allowing parishes to increase license fees and motor fuels taxes to help pay for bridge repairs.
"Although our political leaders frequently proclaim the safety and condition of our bridges are of national importance, federal funding has not empowered the transportation agencies with sufficient funding to maintain, much less improve, our aging bridge infrastructure," the state report said.
State Department of Transportation and Development officials, however, expressed a brighter view of the state's infrastructure needs, saying the backlog of road and bridge needs has been reduced from $14 billion to $12.1 billion.
"Over the past 5 years, the state has invested more than $5 billion in Louisiana's infrastructure - an unprecedented amount," said a statement released by the department on Tuesday. "This translates into more than 2,100 improvement projects including approximately 5,400 miles of roadway and 395 bridges.
While Louisiana has 33 dams considered high hazard -- which means the loss of at least one human life is likely if the dam fails -- 86 percent have emergency action plans, the report said. Louisiana actually has 555 dams, most of which are privately owned. Of the 33 with a high hazard potential, 29 are considered to be in satisfactory or fair condition, based on the most recent inspection reports.
Water and sewer systems are a different story. The state's drinking water infrastructure will need $6.9 billion in improvements over the next 20 years, while wastewater facilities will need $4 billion.
"Louisiana's potable water infrastructure is deteriorating at an alarming rate," said the report, which gave the drinking water systems a grade of D+. "Approximately half of the 89 water systems studied were constructed before 1960. Many of these systems have had little if any rehabilitation conducted since the system was built."
A 2007 needs survey by the state Department of Health and Hospitals indicated more than 10,000 miles of transmission and distribution lines will require replacement within the next 20 years because of their age, with the older lines leaking at rates that cost the water systems valuable revenue.
The report recommended the development of master plans for public water systems to address existing and future needs, including funding. It also warned that continued withdrawal of large quantities of groundwater for industrial use will continue to decrease water levels in aquifers that contain water fit for drinking, and urged daily limits for withdrawal quantities.
It also suggests the establishment of sustainable funding sources for wastewater infrastructure, and for local governments to continue to develop new wastewater treatment facilities to accommodate areas not yet served by municipal sewer systems. Extensions of those community systems would reduce the number of individual septic systems and their pollution problems, the report said.