‘Good roads cost less:' Utah infrastructure receives ‘C+' grade from engineers, above national average
Overall, Utah earned a 'C+' grade, one of three states to receive this grade, along with Georgia and Wisconsin. The grade is also the highest the ASCE has given to any state and is just above the national average of 'C' in the , which was released in March.
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The state's aviation infrastructure was the only category to see a grade increase, while three categories saw decreases: bridges, stormwater and transit. All other categories remained the same from 2020.
Here are the grades for each category measured:
B+ — Roads
B — Bridges
B- — Drinking Water, Solid Waste, Transit
C+ — Aviation, Dams, Hazardous Waste
C — Stormwater, Wastewater
D+ — Canals
D- — Levees
Craig Friant, Chair of the Report Card, said that state leaders have taken steps to ensure the reliability of infrastructure systems as more people move to the state, but he added that will also create problems with water supply.
'A growing population and more frequent droughts also mean our water supply faces ongoing threats,' Friant said in the report. 'While Utahns have drastically reduced their water usage, there are ongoing challenges, and leaders need to be proactive with their solutions.'
The report cited that the investment in infrastructure from Utah leaders helped the state earn high grades for roads and bridges. It also cited state lawmakers' approval of $14 billion in funding for transportation in 2023, spread over six years, as another factor in the grade increase for roads.
John Gleason, the public relations director with UDOT, shared his thoughts on the grades for roads and bridges, most of which are managed by the department.
'We put a lot of focus into maintaining our roads, keeping them in good shape. We have a saying that 'good roads cost less,' and what that means is if we can do these maintenance projects and keep them in shape… then that staves off the big capacity projects,' Gleason told ABC4.
UDOT's bridge management program is very 'robust,' Gleason shared. He said that UDOT has a great understanding of the life cycle of bridges and what maintenance needs to be done to make them last. He said that funding for these projects is what helped roads and bridges receive these higher grades.
'We've had a lot of big capacity projects in the last few decades, you know, it was a different story before the Winter Olympics 2002, but over the years we've had a major commitment by our state leaders,' Gleason stated. 'They understand the importance of a good transportation system and what that means for the economy.'
Gleason said that UDOT has been innovating with its construction of bridges. He stressed that this innovation helps them be wise with the taxpayer money that goes into these projects.
'We've been leaders in the way that we build bridges and the way that we maintain bridges for a long time,' he said. 'We don't say 'this is the way it's always been done in the past,' we always look for new innovative ways that are going to save time and money.'
Double-tracking the frontrunner is a big project for UDOT, Gleason shared. He said that they have committed not only to moving vehicles, but moving people. UDOT is also working on improvements to walking and biking trails as well as connections to transit.
'It really speaks to the quality of life that we have here in Utah…' Gleason said. 'We want to make sure that we can maintain that and even make things better here in the future.'
The full report is .
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