VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Virginia's infrastructure has been graded as a "C," according to a report card released Tuesday by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Virginia's grade is higher than the national average of a "C-."
The grade means Virginia's infrastructure is considered mediocre and needs attention. Eleven categories were scored for an overall "C" rating.
"The rating may seem a little bit low, but as we talked about in our presentation, it's higher than the national average in many of the categories. If you come in and rate it too high or too low you kind of lose the value of identifying where those concerns are so resources can be put to those deficiencies to correct them," said Victor Crawford, the lead engineer for Virginia's report card.
The report does note some important improvements, though. For example, the report says 3-percent of Virginia's bridges are in poor condition, compared to 7.5-percent in 2015. Bridges received a "B."
It also says the number of roads in good condition rose from 48-percent in 2018 to 51-percent in 2021.
Still, the report says challenges remain, including in the number of people dying on Virginia roadways, which jumped from 796 in 2020 to 968 in 2021. Roads received a "C-."
Virginia's lowest grade came in wastewater, which scored a "D+." The report says Virginia's wastewater system is aging and impacted by threats like climate change.
The report encourages state leaders to aggressively go for federal funding made possible through the Infrastructure Law, continue to push for transportation and water projects, and to consider climate change and equity when making decisions on which projects to pursue.
Read the entire report here.
Virginia's grades:
-Bridges: B
-Dams: C+
-Drinking Water: C+
-Public Parks: C
-Rail: C-
-Roads: C-
-Schools: C-
-Solid Wase: B-
-Stormwater: C-
-Transit: C-
-Wastewater: D+
-Overall: C
