Why Tennessee's infrastructure was graded as 'mediocre' by the American Society of Civil Engineers

Diana Leyva, Nashville Tennessean
·2 min read

When it comes to infrastructure, Tennessee receives an average grade.

The American Society of Civil Engineers, the oldest national engineering society in the United States, releases "report cards" every 4 years, analyzing the country's overall infrastructure. The 2022 report is the most recent for Tennessee. According to the report by the Tennessee section of the engineering society, Tennessee's infrastructure ranks as "mediocre" with an overall letter grade of a "C."

The report said that the Volunteer State, like the rest of the country, is seeing its roads, bridges, drinking watersystems and more reach the end of their service lives. However, the engineering society praised increased funding of both state and federal legislation to allow for progress.

In January, Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell released a $514M capital spending plan which included $39 million toward keeping countywide infrastructure in good repair.

Tennessee's grade was calculated using the following grading scale:

  • A: Exceptional, fit for the future

  • B: Good, adequate for now

  • C: Mediocre, requires attention

  • D: Poor, at risk

  • F: Failing/critical, unfit for purpose

"Since 2016, the last time an Infrastructure Report Card was released for our state, multiple initiatives have been used to make strides in improving many areas of our state’s infrastructure," said the report. "The increase of the state gas tax has allowed Tennessee to continue as a “Pay as you Go” state, one of only five in our country, while improving the overall condition of our roads and bridges and reducing or eliminating the local match requiredto fund some projects."

The report noted that much of Tennessee's infrastructure is over half a century old and in some cases even older. Relief has come in the form of federal legislation such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Inflation Reduction Act and the American Rescue Plan Act .

The engineering society hopes that the funding will allow for significant improvements which will ultimately "improve the lives of the people of Tennessee, the users of the state’s infrastructure."

C's and D's lead Tennessee's latest infrastructure report card

The overall grade was determined by taking into account various aspects of the state's infrastructure. Tennessee received no "A" grades and only one "B" grade, the remaining categories received C and D grades.

  • Aviation: C+

  • Bridges: B

  • Dams: D+

  • Drinking Water: C+

  • Energy: C+

  • Inland Waterways: C

  • Public Parks: C+

  • Rail: C

  • Roads: C

  • Solid Waste: C+

  • Stormwater: C+

  • Transit: D+

  • Wastewater: C-

More: Nashville Transportation says Division Street repair will take 10-14 days after collapse

Methodology

The American Society of Civil Engineers used the following criteria to discuss and grade the state of the infrastructure:

  • Capacity

  • Condition

  • Funding

  • Future need

  • Operation and maintenance

  • Public safety

  • Resilience

  • Innovation

Diana Leyva covers trending news and service for The Tennessean. Contact her at Dleyva@gannett.com or follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter at @_leyvadiana

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Why Tennessee's infrastructure was graded as 'mediocre' by ASCE