SALEM, Ore. (KATU) — They are part of everyday life: roads, bridges, waterways, and airports, and engineers say we don’t think about them until they are in a state of disrepair.
“Dams failing to withstand unexpectedly large rainfall events water mains breaking shutting down businesses, workers get sent home we can’t use those facilities or when bridges post load restrictions and freight trucks have to go a long ways around to deliver, when those things happen that is the times we think mostly about our infrastructure,” said Greg DiLoreto President ofAmerican Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Oregon chapter.
The 2024 infrastructure report card gave Oregon an overall C minus when it comes to maintaining the state’s infrastructure. The score from ASCE Oregon chapter is unchanged from 2019. It’s also in line with the national average.
“If I brought this report card to my parents when I am in high school they would be very worried about my future,” said Stillmaker, President of the Professional Engineers of Oregon who noted that the report card points to a need for change.
The total score is a GPA based on a traditional A-F report card format. The report card graded the state in 12 categories.
- Aviation: C-
- Bridges: C-
- Dams D+
- Drinking water: C
- Energy: C-
- Inland Waterways: C
- Ports: C-
- Roads: C
- Schools: I (Incomplete due to lacking data)
- Stormwaters: D+
- Transit: D+
- Wastewater: D+
To improve the score the committee that graded the state recommended the following five steps.
- Increased Dedicated Funding
- Implement Comprehensive Resiliency Measures (enhance resilience of infrastructure during natural disasters and overall climate change)
- Strengthen regulatory frameworks and enforcement
- Utilize asset management systems to optimize spending
- Invest in workforce
Rep Mark Gamba D-Milwaukie says this year the legislature is going to have to take a serious look at the first recommendation for a stable source of funding particularly when it comes to road and bridge maintenance which left unchecked could cause serious injuries.
“I sit on the transportation economic development ways and means subcommittee two years ago in the report from ODOT they said if things continue at the status quo we will have bridges in this state that we have not touched for 200 years,” Gamba said noting that the standard for bridge maintenance is every seven years.
He said with gas tax revenue declining due to more electric cars something will have to give and noted that lawmakers are going to have to take a more bold approach than they have in years past.
“It will have to be in a way that stays sustainable not this thing where we go okay we will raise the gas tax a nickel this year and then we don’t touch it again for another five years and in the meantime inflation far outpaces that,” he said.