To balance the state budget over the past few years, the governor and state legislators have raid the state’s transportation trust fund. A new report from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Florida Section shows the price of such short-sightedness is that Florida’s infrastructure has not improved over the last four years.
Its 2012 Report Card for Florida’s Infrastructure, which was released yesterday, shows Coastal Areas dropped from a C+ to a D- in the span of just four years. The only category to raise its grade from 2008 was stormwater, which the ASCE attributes to more municipalities implementing stormwater utilities and assessing residents with stormwater rates. The category grades include: Aviation (B-), Bridges (B), Coastal Areas (D-), Energy (D), Flood Control (D+), Ports (C), Roads (C), Schools (D+), Stormwater (C+), and Transit (C).
“Florida is a critical part of our national infrastructure system,†said Maria Fernandez-Porrata, Chair of the Florida Section Government Relations Committee. “If our state cannot improve its infrastructure, then not only Floridians, but families across the country, are going to see prices rise, GDP shrink, and our economy remain stagnant.â€
The Florida Report Card was created as a public service to the citizens and politicans of the state to inform them on the infrastructure needs in their community. By using grade school report card letter grades, civil engineers have used their expertise to condense complicated data into easy to understand analysis.
The 2012 Report Card for Florida’s Infrastructure can be viewed at www.fla-asce.org. The Florida Report Card is based on the Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, which last gave the nation a D grade in 2009, and will be updated in early 2013. The current version can be found at www.infrastructurereportcard.org.