Though the nation's infrastructure as a whole is improving, several states in the Southeast lag as the federal government is reducing the spigot of federal infrastructure aid.
The American Society of Civil Engineers
But ASCE's ongoing state-level tracking finds several Southeast states lagging.
This week's report did not update ASCE's state-level grades, but the organization gives six of the region's 11states infrastructure grades of C-minus or worse. Four of these reports were completed since the start of 2020.
On Tuesday ASCE updated key state-level facts that suggest states that have had reports released since the start of 2020 haven't experienced significant progress.
The ASCE said about the United States, "recent federal and state aid investments have had a positive impact, but the full force of increased federal funding will take years to realize." However, the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which the ASCE said is largely responsible for infrastructure improvements, is set to expire in fiscal 2026.
Earlier this month the
Southeast states that received infrastructure grades below C in their latest ASCE reports are
Only Georgia, with
Graded C were
Given the region's historic infrastructure development patterns, Muni Credit News Publisher Joseph Krist said he wasn't surprised that these states lagged.
"Whether it's resistance to debt, public-private partnerships, tolls or just cultural history, the ability to get projects done has been limited. There are some signs of life like the Mobile, Alabama, projects and the
The Mobile Airport Authority is
"The effort to get the federal government out of funding infrastructure isn't going to help," Krist said. "When one looks at debates over infrastructure in the region over the last decade, federal dollars are always looked to first. If that funding dynamic is permanently changed, the region will just lag farther behind."
John Hallacy, president of John Hallacy Consulting LLC, said, "The [federal] infrastructure law provided funds to a variety of projects in these states. By now, some of these projects should be substantially complete. All of these states have made their own investments in assets that contribute to the economic vitality of the state mainly through the issuance of municipal bonds.
"In the next four to 10 years it is clear that the current administration will not be inclined to add expensive new federal programs," Hallacy said. "The states will need to triage what projects take priority. Many of these states in this region have strict debt issuance guidelines. There will be pressure to create more revenue bonds with discrete revenue streams to create more debt capacity for critical projects.
"Bonds are always key to large capital undertakings," Hallacy said. "Some of these states do some modest levels of pay-as-you-go projects but larger projects require bonding.
"If municipals are made taxable, we are talking about less proceeds to apply to projects from bond issues," Hallacy said.
The Bond Buyer reached out to the governors of the four states with ASCE reports since the start of 2020 and whose grades were under C for comment. Officials from Mississippi and South Carolina responded.
Mississippi Deputy Chief of Staff Cory Custer said, "We're proud of what has been accomplished during the [Gov. Jonathan] Reeves administration to improve Mississippi's infrastructure." Reeves, a Republican, has been governor since January 2020.
In the 2022 legislative session Reeves signed legislation providing $100 million for road and bridge maintenance program, $45 million for the Mississippi Department of Transportation's maintenance program and $35 million for the department's capacity program, Custer said. Reeves also signed an act making $450 million to municipalities for water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure projects. He signed legislation allocating $300 million to assist rural water associations.
In the 2023 session, Reeves approved legislation investing over $2 billion towards transportation and infrastructure improvements, Custer said. Of this, $1.4 billion was allocated to the department of transportation. The state allocated $41 million and $73 million for water infrastructure in two separate programs.
"Much has been done since 2021 in the way of improving [South Carolina's] roads and bridges system," said Hannah Robinson, media relations manager for the South Carolina Department of Transportation.
In 2017 the South Carolina general assembly passed Act 40, which provided $500 million to improve the state's roads and bridges network, Robinson said.
Since 2017, the department has addressed or is working on 1,142 miles of a 1,300 mile through 2027 goal of rural roads, Robinson said. Completed projects have seen a 20% reduction in fatal and serious injury crashes and a 49% decrease in roadway departure fatal and serious injury crashes," she said. The department has also completed or is working on 9,620 miles of paving projects. It has done work on 394 of its 530-bridge goal through 2027.
The department has also completed or is working on 111 miles of interstate, Robinson said.
The department has increased its construction spending to $6.5 billion in 2025 from $1 billion in 2017, she said.
The department is now seeking public comment on a transportation plan for the state through 2050, Robinson said. Once it approves the plan, it will start creating a strategic plan covering the 2027 to 2036 period.
Robinson said the department had no debt and did not have plans to issue any debt.
According to TRIP, a national nonprofit organization,
The ASCE, in its 2021 South Carolina report, found the aviation, dams, drinking water, wastewater, roads, and transit categories in the worst shape.
In its 2024 report on Mississippi, it found bridges, dams, drinking water, inland waterways, levees, roads and wastewater to be in the direst conditions.
The society's 2022 report on Alabama said drinking water, inland waterways, roads, transit, stormwater and wastewater had the most parlous conditions among the state's infrastructure categories. It said there was inadequate information to grade dams.
Finally, in 2020 the society said West Virginia's weakest categories were bridges, dams, drinking water, roads and wastewater.
The ASCE updated the state's infrastructure "key facts" Tuesday, posting data that was about four years fresher than the old data. Most of the data for the six states and one territory with grades under C deviated only mildly from the old data.
However, in West Virginia the roads improved to 26% in fair or poor condition from 55%. On the other hand, the state's wastewater needs worsened to needing $5 billion from needing $3.3 billion.
ASCE also rated
In Puerto Rico wastewater infrastructure needs improved to $2.4 billion from $3 billion, the ASCE said this week.
