July 11 – Civil Engineers Give Georgia’s Infrastructure a ‘C+’ Grade

“Georgians can take pride in seeing the success of infrastructure investment. This Report Card shows the results when lawmakers realize better infrastructure creates benefits for people and businesses,” said Julie Sechrist, P.E., Chair of the 2024 Report Card for Georgia’s Infrastructure. “While there is a lot to be proud of, there is still room for progress, especially for water systems that serve Georgia’s growing population. As more people and businesses move here, these life-sustaining systems need increased funding to grow, improve, and become more resilient to new and ongoing threats.”

In recent years, Georgia has seen significant investment and increased funding for roads and bridges. Georgia’s highways have benefitted from additional funding through the Transportation Investment Act of 2012 and Transportation Funding Act of 2015, which increased funding for roads by increasing the gas tax automatically with inflation. The state now has the sixth-best road conditions in the country. Additionally, 98 percent of bridges in Georgia are in fair or good condition, an improvement from 93 percent in 2017 and 78 percent in 2013. However, these improvements are threatened by funding pressures of vehicle efficiency and electrification, project cost escalation from input materials and labor shortages, and state legislative proposals for increased weight limits on roads other than federal highways. 

Georgia’s airports also play a significant role in the state’s economic success, with an annual economic impact of $73 billion, most of it from Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The state has increased investment in aviation systems, and pavement conditions have improved since the last Report Card. However, it is worth noting that this grade decrease is only because public data available during the process of writing the 2019 Report Card significantly overestimated runway pavement conditions. With a clearer assessment of Georgia’s aviation infrastructure, the sector can better serve the state and nation’s air travel needs. 

Georgia’s ports received the highest grade in the 2024 Report Card. Marine and inland ports have seen significant increases in capacity and operational and maintenance improvements. The Georgia Port Authority plans an additional $4.5 billion in capital investments over the next ten years.

Georgia’s energy system received a ‘B’ grade, compared to a ‘C-’ grade on the Report Card for America’s Infrastructure. Georgia has invested billions in energy grid upgrades and accelerated its transition away from coal-fired power plants to nuclear, natural gas, and solar energy sources. With more people and businesses moving to Georgia and increased energy needs as more companies build new data centers in the state, a reliable and robust energy grid is vital for Georgia’s economic future. 

“This report card is so important to Georgia because it gives businesses an idea of the progress that we’re making as we see more and more load on our electric grid,” said Georgia Public Service Commission Vice-Chairman Tim Echols. “Our Public Service Commission is hard at work making sure that the state has more than it needs.”

Transit systems, which can help move the workforce necessary to continue economic growth, received the lowest grade on the Report Card with a ‘D’. Georgia’s 93 transit systems are still seeing fewer passengers than before the pandemic and face tough choices as the federal support that helped them weather the pandemic ends. While the state has created some new funding sources for transit systems, local governments are still responsible for most of the cost. To improve this grade, the Report Card encourages lawmakers to establish a robust, sustainable, and reliable state-level transit funding source to address the annual $1.7 billion funding gap.

Next, the Report Card found Georgia’s water systems face increasing costs to keep up with the state’s growing population. The state’s drinking water investment needs have grown to $19.7 billion over the next 20 years, compared to $12.5 billion in 2018. While people in Georgia pay less than the national average for drinking water, lower consumer bills make it difficult for water utilities to recover the full cost of service and build for the future with ongoing maintenance and capital needs, as well as respond to new rules and regulations. Water systems face higher costs as they comply with new requirements to replace lead service lines and reduce the levels of “forever chemicals” in drinking water. Stormwater and wastewater systems also face new and increasing expenses to expand and serve the state’s growing population and increase the resilience of existing systems which are facing more frequent extreme weather events.

Other recommendations to raise the grade include:

• Set responsible, resilient utility rates and user fees: Pursue utility rate increases to fully account for the full cost of service, including capital, maintenance, and operating needs. This should include life-cycle costs, materials, labor, inflation, and resilience upgrades necessary for extreme weather. 

• Expand safety funding and oversight in dams and roads: Amend the Georgia Safe Dams Act to implement “Significant Hazard Potential” dams and increase funding to reduce the backlog of classification of dams. Improve traffic safety with state and local funding for designing and constructing “complete streets” with robust enforcement. 

• Invest in new electricity generation and a resilient grid: State and local authorities should fund and facilitate new forms and greater scales of energy generation. Retrofits and new connections in the energy grid will ensure resilience to extreme weather and a backbone supporting population and business growth.

• Increase funding and coordination of intermodal freight projects: Additional state funding would develop projects in Georgia’s Statewide Freight and Logistics Plan more quickly to capitalize on increased goods movement. Coordinate with regional and local communities where freight movements create benefits and burdens for nearby stakeholders. 

The Report Card was created as a public service to citizens and policymakers to inform them of the infrastructure needs in their state. Civil engineers use their expertise and school report card-style letter grades to condense complicated data into an easy-to-understand analysis of Georgia’s infrastructure network. ASCE State Report Cards are modeled after the national Infrastructure Report Card, which gave America’s infrastructure an overall grade of ‘C-’ in 2021. The next national Infrastructure Report Card will be released in March 2025.