The infrastructure in the state of Michigan is not good, according to a new report from the American Society of Civil Engineers.
The Michigan chapter gave Michigan's infrastructure a D+ grade after grading 13 different categories of the state infrastructure. The highest grade for one category was a C+ while the lowest a D-.
According to the 2018 report card, much of the state's infrastructure is reaching the end of its useful life and continues to threaten lakes, rivers, drinking water and public health and safety.
"A D+ grade is unacceptable. Michigan is poised to address what's broken and protect our residents' safety by making necessary investments to improve our infrastructure. We can rebuild our roads, make our bridges safer, and prevent costly water main breaks - all things that will save us money in the long run," Myndi Bacon, co-char of the Report Card for Michigan's Infrastructure said in a release. "Michigan residents take pride in our most precious resource, our water. It's time to make protecting our residents' health and safety as well as our rivers, lakes and streams a top priority."
According to the report, the major findings include:
- Roads category received a D- grade because 39 percent of paved roads in Michigan (120,000 miles), are in poor condition, 43 percent in fair condition and only 18 percent in good condition.
- Michigan's Drinking Water systems scored a D-
- The state lacks a way to inventory, operate and maintain the stormwater infrastructure, which provide flood protection and more
- Michigan has 1,234 structurally deficient bridges, and MDOT estimates that state-maintained bridges in poor condition will increase by 50 percent in next five years.
The categories the state was graded on by a team of professional engineers includes: Aviation (C), Bridges (C-), Dams (C-), Drinking Water (D), Energy (C-), Navigation (C), Rail (C-), Roads (D-), Schools (D+), Solid Waste (C+), Stormwater (D-), Transit (C-) and Wastewater (C).
There are several recommendations in the report card to raise the grade of Michigan's infrastructure, which include increasing state funding, prioritizing public health and more.
You can read the entire report below.
Michigan's infrastructure gets D+ grade by WXYZ-TV Channel 7 Detroit on Scribd
