Asset Condition and Maintenance of US Infrastructure

For many years crumbling and aging infrastructure is a problem in the United States. Many of their roads, bridges, waterways, ports, runway, and drinking water systems that provide essential services to the cities and communities, are more than 50 years old.

A good percentage of these critical infrastructures badly needs maintenance and intervention, which the state seems to neglect, the USA Today article, “Infrastructure across the US: These states have the worse bridges, roads and rails”, mentions.

More than 54 thousand of their bridges are deemed structurally deficient by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), and it gets worse by the year due to underinvestment.  

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) quoted US$4.6 trillion to fix infrastructure problems in the next decade.

The article narrates the condition of the U.S. infrastructure across all 49 states, except Iowa, mentioning the percentage of roadways in poor condition, structurally deficient bridges, train derailments, and state highway spending per licensed driver between 2015 to 2019 in each state.

Data was taken from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of State Government Finances for highway spending.

“Nationwide, 21.8% of roads are in poor condition, 7.6% of bridges need replacement or repair, and there have been 4.8 derailments for every 100 miles of train track from 2015 to 2019, the most common cause of which are broken rails or welds. In some states, these figures are far worse, indicating a threat to not only the economy but to public health and safety as well.”

Each state also has its unique transportation challenges. For example, in Northeast and Midwest states, harsh winters and the pattern of freezing and thawing hastens road deterioration. Highly populous states suffer traffic congestions, which increases the wear and tear of roads.

Wisconsin (81.7%) and Rhode Island  (48.7%) ranks first and second, respectively, with the highest percentage of poor roadway condition.

Georgia (2.9%) has the best-maintained roads in the country with no harsh winters as it does not require as much upkeep as the roads in the northern states.  

Rhode Island has the highest number of structurally deficient bridges (48.7%), and Texas, the smallest percentage at 1.3%.

Locomotive derailments are calculated based on the number of train derailment accidents per 100 miles of railway. New Jersey has the highest number of derailments at 10.9 per 100 miles of track. Alaska has the second-fewest at .6 per 100 miles of track, while New Hampshire has zero derailments between 2015 and 2019.  

Basing on all infrastructure condition criteria – roadway condition, deficient bridges, locomotive derailments, Nevada has the best overall infrastructure among all states.

Regarding state highway spending per licensed driver, Alaska has the highest spending at $2,364, and Tennessee has the lowest spend at $315.

The data shows that America’s crumbling infrastructures would benefit from having an infrastructure asset management plan across the states.

Countries with applied asset management have gained cost savings from planned maintenance rather than unplanned repairs and maintenance from sudden and massive disruptions.