Maine received a slightly better grade on its infrastructure report card this year compared with the one issued by the American Society of Civil Engineers four years ago.
The state’s overall infrastructure grade is now a C, up from a C minus. Maine has held the same C minus grade for the last 16 years.
The slight improvement is an achievement in the eyes of the American Society of Civil Engineers, according to Maine section president Nate Strout.
“Even though it went up to a C, it’s been consecutively a C minus ever since we started,” he said. “So to us that is a good sign of things, that at least the overall grade is improving.”
Strout attributed the improvements, in large part, to the more than $1 billion in federal funds that have been invested in Maine over the last four years. And Strout believes there are more upgrades on the way.
“Some of these [have] long lead times,” he said. “Even though funds were allocated say, two years ago, by the time that bridge is designed, built and finally inspected, it’s not going to show up in this time period.”
Road improvements, Strout added, can typically be completed within a relatively short time after the project has received funding.
Maine’s airports earned the highest grade of any other category, with a B. Maine airports have made significant improvements to runways and other infrastructure over the last four years, Strout said.
The report, however, warns that Maine must make more investments in rebuilding the state’s aging dams and bridges and devote more attention to PFAS chemical remediation work in the coming years.
This article appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.