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 Transportation for America’s Director James Corless:

“Our country’s association of civil engineers continues to do the yeoman’s work of sounding the alarm on our country’s infrastructure — the roads, rails and waterways that we depend on to move our goods from place to place and get us where we need to go each day. But it’s a sad reality that little has changed since the last Report Card in 2009, with America’s grade climbing only slightly from a D to a D+. Has anything in Washington changed to drastically improve the condition of our roads, bridges and transit systems in the four years since? Last summer, Congress finally passed a replacement to the transportation bill that expired a few months after the last ASCE report card was issued — in 2009. Though a definite sign of progress in some areas, the new law provided no new dollars for transportation in the two years to come. The program dedicated to repairing our country’s 69,000 structurally deficient bridges was eliminated after making steady progress on reducing the backlog over the last 20 years.” Read the entire statement.

 
Building America’s Future Co-Chair and Former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell:

“A Report Card grade of a D+ is not indicative of a first-class infrastructure. For years, we’ve known that our roads and bridges are deteriorating and not keeping up with demand, but this Report Card shows that America also has substantial deficiencies in our levees, wastewater systems, drinking water systems, aviation and more. For America to stay competitive in a global economy, we must significantly improve our energy, transportation and water systems.” Read the entire statement.

 
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Executive Director Bud Wright:

“This Report Card accentuates the need for a long-term, sustainable funding source for surface transportation moving forward. By connecting greater investment in transportation projects to measurable improvements in efficiency and connectivity, the report demonstrates why adequate infrastructure investment is key to our future economic prosperity.” Read the entire statement.

 
American Public Transportation Association (APTA) President & CEO Michael Melaniphy:

“I want to commend ASCE for highlighting the need for urgent investment in our nation’s public transportation infrastructure in their report. The report shows that there are devastating consequences to our economy and to our mobility when we do not make investing in America’s infrastructure a priority.” Read the entire statement.

 
American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) President & CEO Kurt Nagle:

“AAPA is pleased that ASCE included seaports for the first time in its critical infrastructure Report Card.  The inclusion of seaports in this infrastructure analysis is recognition of the importance of ports, and the connections to them, and to our nation’s freight transportation system.” Read the entire statement.

 
Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) General President Terry O’Sullivan:

“It’s time to stop duct-taping this problem. Chronic underinvestment created the current crisis and continued failure to adequately invest in our nation’s infrastructure needs only widens the gap and increases the final cost…It’s time for Congress to put the duct tape away and put America back to work building a safe, efficient and effective U.S. infrastructure system that will pay dividends to our national economy and the American workforce for decades to come.” Read the entire statement.

 
American Water Works Association (AWWA):

“… if we do not confront the infrastructure challenge before us, the reliability of our water systems, the health of our environment, the prosperity of our economy, and the safety of our water will be increasingly at risk.” Read the entire statement.

 
American Public Works Association (APWA) Executive Director Peter B. King:

“With the slight increase shown in this year’s Report Card cumulative GPA, and with several  categories noted for  incremental improvements, the Report Card indicates a very moderate upward movement. But an overall grade of D+ remains unacceptable. Improving our nation’s basic infrastructure is in everyone’s best interest. Investment and system-wide improvements affect long term growth, employment and strengthens our business climate and global competitiveness.” Read the entire statement.

Association of State Dam Safety Officials Executive Director Lori Spragens:

“We know the D grade is a fair assessment of the status of the nation’s dam infrastructure, and we believe it represents an important wake-up call for state and federal officials, dam owners and  people who live and work near dams. Dams are integral to our nation’s infrastructure and we all have a role to play in creating a future where all dams are safe. By investing today, we will save lives and property tomorrow.” Read the entire statement.

 
Association of American Railroads (AAR) President & CEO Edward R. Hamberger:

“It is truly gratifying that the world’s premier organization of engineering experts recognizes the value and benefits that have resulted from freight railroads making private investments in our country’s rail network infrastructure. It’s also reassuring that ASCE recognizes that freight railroads need a regulatory and financial environment that will continue to make those private investments possible.” Read the entire statement.

 
American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA) President & CEO Roger Wentz:

“Improved safety should be a key driving force behind financial investments in America’s highways. We can improve the current conditions on our highways and roads by identifying deficiencies and appropriately repairing and upgrading lanes, medians and the safety features on our highway system.” Source: PR Newswire

Tags: 2013 Report Card on America's Infrastructure, AAR, AASHTO, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, American Public Transportation Association, American Public Works Association, American Traffic Safety Services Association, American Water Works Association, APTA, APWA, ASCE, Association of American Railroads, Association of State Dam Safety Officials, ATSSA, AWWA, BAF, Bud Wright, Building America's Future, Ed Rendell, Edward R. Hamberger, James Corless, Laborers' International Union of North America, LIUNA, Lori Spragens, PA, Pennsylvania, Peter B. King, Roger Wentz, Terry O'Sullivan, Transportation for America

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 19th, 2013 at 12:24 pm and is filed under Aging Infrastructure, Aviation, Bridges, Dams, Drinking Water, Economic Stimulus, Energy, Hazardous Waste, Highway, Inland Waterways, Levees, National, Public Parks & Recreation, Rail, Recovery, Roads, Schools, Seaports, Smart Growth, Solid Waste, The Infra Blog, Transit, Urban Planning, Wastewater, Water Treatment . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.