The first-ever Louisiana infrastructure report card was released last week, and the results aren’t pretty.
The American Society of Civil Engineers’ study, compiled over the course of 18 months by a team of more than 50 civil engineers, evaluated nine major components of the state’s infrastructure — aviation, bridges, dams, drinking water, levees, ports, roads, solid waste and wastewater.
The report for each component included a grade, an explanation and a recommendation for improvement.
The study includes a total of 42 specific recommendations, said Nedra Davis, communications director for the report card operation.
Kam Movassaghi, executive director for the report card operation, said the study results demonstrate a need for improvement.
“If you score like that on your academic endeavor, your parents will not be very happy,” he said.
The grades are based on capacity, condition, funding, future needs, operations and maintenance, public safety and resilience, according to the report.
Future plans were also taken into consideration when assigning grades, Movassaghi said. Categories with dedicated funds and remedy plans earned higher grades.
State dams received the best grade with a B-. According to the report, at least 290 of Louisiana’s 555 dams are older than 50 years, and 444 dams are privately owned. Only 33 dams have a high hazard potential, meaning the loss of one life is likely if the dam fails.
The state’s lowest score was a D for roads. Almost every road system flaw is due to an obsolete funding model, the report found.
“Louisiana’s road system is congested, in poor condition and inadequate to meet the needs of a state competing to provide economic opportunities for businesses and citizens,” the report reads.
While Movassaghi was unable to estimate the necessary level of funding to address Louisiana’s infrastructure problems, he said the Department of Transportation and Development estimated the current price tag for existing road and bridge maintenance is $12 billion.
Movassaghi said the report card was created to bring the poor condition of the state’s infrastructure to the public’s attention. Louisiana does not place high priority on maintaining its infrastructure, he said, and neglect has led to major problems.
“If you don’t maintain it continuously, the program will grow multi-folds. A $1 repair today will become a $16 repair down the road,” he said. “That’s what happened to our state over the years.”
Movassaghi said he hopes the report’s release will lead to a public push for infrastructure maintenance.
“If we don’t take care of our infrastructure, we’re going to continue to lose our economic competitiveness — not only among other states, but internationally,” he said.
The report was compiled as an act of civic duty, not to embarrass officials or push a political agenda, Movassaghi said.
“We worked together as good citizens and good civil engineers to bring it to the attention [of] the public and hopefully that will start a conversation,” he said.
The report was compiled by volunteer engineers, David said. The only paid contributor was Mark Lambert, report card editor-in-chief.
“There hasn’t been an effort like this before,” Davis said.
The ASCE will continue to share the report, she said.
“Each congressional member will receive a copy,” Davis said. “We hope everyone is as upset [by the findings] as we are, so they’ll utilize that information to make a change.”
 
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Contact Emily Herrington at [email protected]