ASCE sees infrastructure progress, but more to be done

The Reston, Virginia-based American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has raised the grade given to the health of infrastructure in the United States from a “C-minus” in 2021 to “C” in its newly issued 2025 “Comprehensive Assessment of America’s Infrastructure.”

"For more than two decades, the message behind the unflattering grades was consistent: federal, state and local governments, in addition to the private sector, have not been prioritizing our interdependent infrastructure systems," the ASCE says in a 28-page executive summary of its assessment.

“[However,] in late 2021, the trend began to change. Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the most comprehensive federal investment in the nation’s infrastructure in U.S. history.”

While that funding has been helpful, the ASCE also writes, “While significant advancements are being made, we still face a substantial investment gap. The shortfall grows as existing infrastructure systems continue to age and demands on those systems increase.”

The organization divides infrastructure into 18 categories, assigning each one a grade. Recyclers who move materials long distances may be heartened to learn the two highest scoring sectors are Ports, with a “B” grade, and Rail, with a “B-minus.”

ASCE assigns a “C-plus” grade to solid waste infrastructure, a grade of “C” to bridges nationally and scores Inland Waterways with a “C-minus” grade.

Among sectors of interest to the aggregates, demolition and recycling sectors receiving low national infrastructure grades were Roads with a “D-plus” and Transit with a “D.”

Regarding the ASCE Roads category, a sizable category that entails the use of concrete, asphalt and steel rebar, the organization writes in part, “Recent investments, including more than $591 billion since late 2021 from IIJA, are a positive step. The nation’s roadways still face a $684 billion funding gap over the next 10 years. Sustained and robust infrastructure investment is needed to maintain and improve the roadway network for the future.”

In its executive summary on the Solid Waste category, ASCE writes in part (without a source cited in the summary document), “After rising in previous decades, recycling [volumes] are plateauing, having grown from 14.5 million tons in 1980 to 65 million in 2010 and 69 million in 2018.”

The ASCE Comprehensive Assessment of America’s Infrastructure executive summary and full report are available from a website dedicated to the report card.