Wednesday, February 09, 2011
Maryland’s Infrastructure Gets C-
The Maryland Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gave the overall quality of Maryland’s infrastructure a C- or mediocre rating. ASCE gave the nation as a whole a D rating on its infrastructure.
“This report is the second in just one week that clearly points out that Maryland needs to do much better in funding needed infrastructure projects, many of which are either approaching or have passed their useful or safe life,” said Kathy Snyder, CCE, President/CEO of the Maryland Chamber of Commerce. “Last week the TRIP report noted congestion costs $2,200 per driver in costs and lost time. Legislation needs to be passed this session of our General Assembly to restore trust in the Transportation Trust Fund and increase funding for our infrastructure.”
While the management and maintenance of Maryland’s bridges were given a rating of B, transit and road infrastructure rated a C- due to growing operating costs and lack of additional funding issues. Dams were given a C and stormwater a D or poor ratings. The full report is here. The Maryland Section also gave the Baltimore area’s drinking water infrastructure (not quality of water) a C- and its wastewater system a C.
Highlights of the report include:
- 44% of Maryland’s major roads are in poor or mediocre condition.
- 55% of Maryland’s major urban highways are congested.
- Vehicle travel on Maryland’s Interstates increased 52% from 1990 to 2004 while lane miles increased only 21%.
- 29% of Maryland’s bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete.
- There are 68 high hazard dams in Maryland. A high hazard dam is defined as a dam whose failure would cause a loss of life and significant property damage. 37 of Maryland’s 382 dams are in need of rehabilitation to meet applicable state dam safety standards. 12% of high hazard dams in Maryland have no emergency action plan (EAP). An EAP is a predetermined plan of action to be taken including roles, responsibilities and procedures for surveillance, notification and evacuation to reduce the potential for loss of life and property damage in an area affected by a failure or mis-operation of a dam.
- Maryland’s drinking water infrastructure needs an investment of $3.96 billion over the next 20 years.
- Maryland ranked 36th in the quantity of hazardous waste produced and 35th in the total number of hazardous waste producers.
- Maryland’s ports handled 54 million tons of waterborne traffic in 2005, ranking it 18th in the nation.
- Maryland has $5.44 billion in wastewater infrastructure needs.
