In 1998, the American Society of Civil Engineers put out its first report card for US infrastructure and gave it a D. Little progress was made in the subsequent years until 2021, when ASCE handed out its first overall C- grade. Yesterday, ASCE released its 2025 report card and gave out its most flattering grade yet, a C.
While a C might seem pedestrian on paper, there are a plethora of smaller victories within the report that add important context. Notably, eight infrastructure sectors ASCE monitored four years ago saw their grades improve in 2025. Ports earned the highest grade (B), while stormwater and transit earned the lowest grades (D). Broadband made its debut as a graded category, earning a C+. Notably, no sectors were graded D- or F—a first since ASCE began issuing report cards. However, energy (D+) and rail (B-) saw their grades decline.
ASCE and other observers see the report card as especially encouraging for sectors like drinking water, hazardous waste and solid waste, which have historically lagged behind and are now seeing measurable progress. However, nine sectors remain in the D range due a combination of aging systems, funding shortfalls and the growing risk of climate-related threats.
While the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act made a dent in many of the US’ backlog of infrastructure needs, ASCE noted the US still faces a $3.7 trillion infrastructure investment gap over the next decade if the country maintains current federal spending levels. ASCE’s “Bridging the Gap” study from 2024 revealed that $9.1 trillion is needed between now and 2033 to achieve a “state of good repair.” Only $5.4 trillion is expected under current funding trajectories. A return to pre-2021 funding levels would increase the total gap to $4.4 trillion.
Key Takeaways
ASCE’s executive summary of the report highlights three big takeaways:
First, addressing aging infrastructure requires prioritizing resilience. ASCE notes that the US faced 27 billion-dollar disasters during 2024, which caused 568 deaths while resulting in more than $182 billion worth of damages. Climate shocks have made aging roads, bridges, power lines and water systems more susceptible to failure, which means resilience must be a more fundamental element of American infrastructure planning and design and investment. The report card calls on policymakers to embed resilience into every phase of project development from planning through permitting and operations and maintenance. The adoption of current building standards together with climate prediction integration and nature-based infrastructure solutions should be implemented to support conventional systems. The report notes that every dollar invested in resilience produces $13 worth of avoided recovery expenses, according to a 2024 economic analysis. However, the investment benefits do not match the variable nature of funding support and policy coordination. Local leaders encounter political or financial resistance when they attempt resilient design implementation unless they receive assurance about continued federal funding past IIJA’s 2026 expiration date.
Second, getting IIJA done isn’t enough. Although federal and state investments are welcome, the full benefits of increased funding will take time to materialize. Long-term, consistent investment is essential to provide stability, support project planning, and make large-scale infrastructure efforts achievable. Prior to IIJA, federal infrastructure funding had lagged for decades, leading to a growing maintenance backlog. At the same time, infrastructure demands have grown—not just for upkeep, but also due to factors like population growth, economic development, unexpected events, and emerging technologies, all of which require updated planning and project design.
“Considering the extensive time it takes to study, design, and complete projects, sustained investment at current or higher funding levels will be necessary for infrastructure to continue to improve,” the report states.
Lastly, it will be difficult to improve the grades for schools, broadband, energy, levees, stormwater and parks without reliable and accessible data. That includes up-to-date information on asset conditions, capacity, operations, safety and resilience.
“Many infrastructure categories lack a basic inventory of assets and therefore are unable to implement asset management practices,” the report notes. “Data—publicly available, routine, and reliable—should be standard across all infrastructure sectors to target investments and allow decision-makers to wisely allocate limited funding to needs.”
Roads, Bridges and Airports Still Need Help
Although slightly improved since 2021, 39% of major U.S. roads remain in poor or mediocre condition. Congestion, wear and tear, and extreme weather continue to degrade pavement quality, costing drivers over $1,400 per year in vehicle damage and delays. Traffic deaths remain high—nearly 41,000 in 2023—and a $684 billion funding gap over the next decade threatens progress. Meanwhile, the country’s 623,000 bridges are showing their age. While just under 7% are structurally deficient, nearly half are in “fair” condition—aging and at risk of further decline. Federal funding from the IIJA—over $40 billion for bridges—is helping, but ASCE warns that without routine maintenance and life-cycle planning, today’s fair-rated bridges could quickly slip into poor condition.
During the ASCE Solutions Summit – an event providing insight into the report card, Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said the House will mark up its surface transportation reauthorization bill this fall and have it on the House floor before the end of the year. He was less certain about the Senate’s timeline, humorously referring to the Senate as “the enemy” when discussing legislative progress. Alluding to some of the stated priorities of the Trump administration, Graves said the House bill will be “traditional” and focused on “laying asphalt, pouring concrete, building roads and building bridges” with a commitment to fully utilizing the Highway Trust Fund.
Graves touted the most recent reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration as “one of the best FAA reauthorizations that’s ever been done in Congress.” But even though the reauthorization and IIJA funding are helping improve the passenger experience, mainly at large airports, delays persist due to workforce shortages and slow modernization, ASCE says. And although FAA funding is increasing slightly, failure to raise the Passenger Facility Charge could limit progress, contributing to a projected $114 billion funding gap over the next decade. The challenge facing aviation, which received a D+ in the report card, comes as air passenger traffic is expected to grow 58% to 1.28 billion annually by 2040.
Struggles in Transit and Rail
Public transit systems are still climbing out of the pandemic’s shadow. Ridership is only 73% of pre-pandemic levels, and the operational funding needed to keep buses and trains running reliably is unstable. A potential $152 billion capital backlog over the next decade looms large, and while the IIJA’s $108 billion is helping jump-start long-delayed projects, many systems still lack the resources to modernize or expand service.
Rail infrastructure, despite its declining grade, remains a bright spot in the transportation picture—especially freight, which moves over 1.5 billion tons of goods annually. Amtrak ridership also continues to rebound. With $66 billion in IIJA funding, rail is poised for upgrades, but long-term safety and performance depend on how effectively those dollars are deployed. Still, the sector faces real concerns – aging infrastructure, staffing shortages and safety risks, underscored by derailments like a high-profile incident in East Palestine, Ohio, in 2023.
“Most of the crossings are at grade rail crossings, and … we have a lot of challenges at those at grade, not just the concept of the interaction between the vehicle, the people and the train, but also if the train is stalled there because of a siding or something along the way, you can’t get emergency access from one side to the other,” says Kristina Swallow, a former ASCE president and current assistant city manager for Tucson, Ariz.
Ports – The Crown Jewel
Ports earned the highest grade (B) in the 2025 Report Card—and for good reason. They support $2.89 trillion in GDP and over 21 million jobs. Federal funding has nearly doubled, with the Port Infrastructure Development Program now funded at $450 million annually. However, resilience is becoming a key issue. Many ports face rising threats from sea level rise, storm surge, and aging coastal infrastructure, and will need long-term planning to adapt.
Norma Jean Mattei, a past president of ASCE, called ports a “poster child for good behavior,” considering many private port owners started heavily investing in upgrades after the expansion of the Panama Canal became operational in 2016. As the pandemic strained global supply chains, the federal government chipped in, too.
“[When] we had COVID, we had supply chain issues, and all of a sudden we had the federal government saying, ‘Oh, we’ve got to also help this out,’” Mattei said. However, she introduced some doubt around the possibility of sustaining ports’ high grade as other competing infrastructure needs take precedence.
Energy Demands
ASCE notes that US electricity demand is experiencing its fastest growth in two decades. But as the US power grid takes on further strain from electric vehicles to data centers, its foundational infrastructure is showing signs of serious stress. In the report card, energy dropped to a D+ due to concerns over capacity, reliability and future readiness. ASCE notes that since 2000, 80% of US power outages have been caused by extreme weather. Most of those occurred in just the last ten years. It also notes that electricity demand from EVs and data centers alone will require an estimated 35 gigawatts of new capacity by 2030—more than double 2022 levels. To meet net-zero targets and integrate renewables, the US needs to double its transmission infrastructure.
“Five years ago, we didn’t predict the demand growth that we’re seeing now, largely due to artificial intelligence and data centers,” said Adrien Ford, wholesale market development director at Constellation Energy. “If we could have predicted that … [Three Mile Island] would have never been shut down.”
Although IIJA and the Inflation Reduction Act have put some funding in place to help meet energy demands, ASCE still believes more could be done to promote faster permitting for transmission projects. The report card calls for greater public-private coordination on energy innovation, prioritizing grid upgrades in underserved and rural communities, and tying resilience planning to long-term climate trends.
At the engineering level, there is also plenty that can be done, said Michael Miller, vice president of technical services at Exo. Miller pointed to efforts to upgrade codes and standards, such as ASCE’s forthcoming standard for overhead power lines that shifts from a safety-focused to a reliability-centered approach, introducing probabilistic design methods that could revolutionize infrastructure resilience. The new standard aims to help utilities justify capital expenditures and move from a reactive “replace after failure” model to a proactive “build stronger” strategy, despite significant jurisdictional challenges across different states.
The proposed standard could represent a critical evolution in infrastructure design, Miller says, recognizing that the electrical grid has become increasingly complex and vital to modern society. He added that by providing a framework for more robust design of distribution structures, the standard could help address the aging infrastructure problem, reduce outage risks, and support the growing electricity demands driven by emerging technologies like AI and data centers. However, its success will depend on voluntary state adoption and a willingness to invest in more resilient infrastructure, challenging the current economic and regulatory paradigms that often prioritize short-term cost savings over long-term reliability.
Water Infrastructure Still in Crisis
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates water infrastructure needs $625 billion over the next 20 years. ASCE continues to ring alarm bells across several water-related categories, all of which remain in the C or D range:
- Drinking Water: C-
- Wastewater: D+
- Stormwater: D
- Dams: D+
There are more than 9 million lead service lines still in use. While IIJA delivered more than $30 billion for capital improvements and lead pipe removal, only 30% of utilities have fully implemented asset management plans to monitor aging infrastructure. Meanwhile, PFAS contamination, increasingly intense storms and population growth are placing new stress on already overburdened systems.
Meanwhile, below ground, the average age of sewer systems is climbing, and infrastructure failures are rising: collection system failures for combined water utilities have increased from 2 to 3.3 per 100 miles of pipe over the last decade. Stormwater needs have ballooned, with the EPA estimating a $115 billion 20-year funding need—up nearly fivefold since 2012. More than 703,000 miles of rivers and streams are now considered impaired, up from 424,000 in 2010. Even with the IIJA’s $46 billion for drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater combined, the US is meeting only about 30% of capital needs across these systems.
As for US dams, nearly 17,000 are classified as “high hazard potential”—meaning failure would likely cause loss of life or major damage. While the IIJA provided $3 billion for dam safety, ASCE notes that Congress redirected more than $360 million of that funding, and federal dam programs still fall short of their authorized levels.
ASCE has called for fully funding and expanding the State Revolving Funds that support local water projects. The report card also calls for helping small and rural utilities implement asset management and resilience planning. It also stresses the need to ensure new funding supports emerging contaminant treatment and long-term operations and not just capital projects.
Schools and Broadband: Infrastructure for Equity and Access
America’s 98,000+ public PK–12 schools serve nearly 50 million students, but many are doing so in buildings that are decades behind in safety, health and technology. ASCE notes the average school building is nearly 50 years old, and critical needs—from lead pipe replacement to air conditioning installation—are piling up.
A 2021 estimate found that 13,700 schools still lack proper cooling, representing $40 billion in unmet needs. Yet schools continue to receive only 10% of their total spending for infrastructure, most of which goes toward new construction rather than maintenance of existing buildings.
Making matters worse, public data on school facilities is severely lacking, leaving many decision-makers without the tools to prioritize investments. ASCE is calling for better data collection, modern code enforcement, and predictable, long-term funding to ensure schools are safe, healthy and prepared for future generations.
Another often overlooked construction market, broadband, is now also recognized as foundational infrastructure, just like water and electricity. The pandemic underscored what millions already knew: fast, reliable internet is no longer optional—it’s essential for work, education, health care, and civic life.
Despite over $65 billion in federal investment through the IIJA and more than $2 trillion in private-sector spending since 1996, access remains uneven. An estimated 12.7 million U.S. households still lack broadband subscriptions, and rural, low-income, and Tribal communities are disproportionately affected.
The report card notes that emerging technologies and infrastructure improvements are helping close the gap, but challenges remain, notably network reliability in the face of extreme weather, policy disputes over local control vs. state preemption and the rapid pace of innovation risks leaving communities behind without scalable, flexible solutions. ASCE calls for maintaining local control, expanding digital literacy and ensuring federal funds target not only infrastructure, but also affordability and adoption.
Technological and Financial Solutions
At the ASCE Solutions Summit, Amy Bunszel from Autodesk and Jon Phillips from the Global Infrastructure Investor Association emphasized the urgent need for innovation, technology, and financing to modernize America’s aging infrastructure. Bunszel discussed how Autodesk’s digital tools—like Revit, AutoCAD, and Tinkercad—are helping engineers, students, and municipalities streamline workflows, reduce waste, and improve project outcomes. “About 40% of landfill waste comes from construction,” she said, underscoring the value of collaborative data environments and AI-driven insights.
Bunszel noted that AI is being applied to tasks ranging from predictive maintenance to flood risk analysis, as seen in Fayetteville, N.C., where AI helped prioritize flood mitigation by analyzing complex data sets. These tools help communities prioritize limited budgets and deliver faster results, she says. Bunszel also highlighted Autodesk’s role in water management and its support for public-private partnerships and training, noting that digitization is key for long-term resilience.
Complementing this, Phillips made the case for expanding private investment in U.S. infrastructure. “Taxpayers alone cannot finance the safe, reliable, modern infrastructure that the world’s most powerful economy demands,” he said. Private capital, like the $280 million invested in Virginia’s I-495 Express Lanes, can deliver projects on time and on budget—while creating jobs and reducing taxpayer burden. Phillips called for streamlined permitting and more support for P3 offices, arguing that public-private partnerships are essential to closing the nation’s infrastructure gap.
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