Report Card For Wisconsin's Infrastructure Gives the State a C+

Wednesday, September 18th, 2024 -- 10:01 AM

(Richelle Wilson, Wisconsin Public Radio) A report card from a group of civil engineers graded Wisconsin’s infrastructure with a C+ in an assessment that covers 17 categories, including parks, roads and energy. 

According to Richelle Wilscon with Wisconsin Public Radio, that grade is a slight improvement from the 2020 report card, when Wisconsin received a C. The American Society of Civil Engineers issues the report card every four years as a way to give residents and policymakers a picture of where a state stands when it comes to transportation, water systems, waste management and other infrastructure.

This year, Wisconsin became the first state to have broadband evaluated as part of the report. Ken Mika is a regional director for the engineering society who is based in Green Bay and one of the co-authors of the latest report card.

“(This year’s grade) tells us that we are currently in a position where there are some areas that do need to get improved immediately, but nothing is detrimental,” Mika told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.”

The report card is intended to identify infrastructure areas with critical needs and to keep things running smoothly where the state is already doing well. “A lot of times, people don’t know what’s going on with infrastructure unless something bad is happening,” Mika said. “Nobody knows what civil engineers are up to until a bridge collapses.”

The report authors offered three key recommendations for raising the state’s grade in 2028: Increase overall investment in infrastructure; Ensure that infrastructure is safe, reliable and resilient; Monitor access and improve data collection.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.