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Florida's Infrastructure Fails To Make the Grade in New Report

MIAMI, FL – Florida’s infrastructure has not improved over the last four years according to a new report by Florida’s civil engineers. The report, the 2012 Report Card for Florida’s Infrastructure, was released by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Florida Section on October 24th in Miami. Local civil engineers volunteered a year of their time grading the state’s systems in areas of their expertise in an effort to raise awareness about the poor state of Florida’s infrastructure.

GRADES - 2012 Report Card
The explanations are here
B-   AVIATION
B     BRIDGES
D-   COASTAL AREAS
D    ENERGY
D+  FLOOD CONTROL
C    HIGHWAYS C PORTS
D+  SCHOOLS
C    STORMWATER
C    TRANSIT
C    WATER AND SEWER

The Florida Section of ASCE released the original Report Card for Florida's Infrastructure in 2008. Regrettably most of the category grades have stayed the same or have gotten worse since that time. More specifically the following grades got worse since the original release in 2008: Coastal Areas dropped from a C+ to a D-; Energy from a D+ to a D; Flood Control from a C to a D+; Storm water from a C+ to a C; Transit from a C+ to a C and Water and Sewer from a B- to a C.

The last Report Card for Florida’s Infrastructure was released in 2008. Regrettably, most of the category grades have either stayed the same or gotten worse since that time. For example, Coastal Areas dropped from a C+ to a D- in the span of just four years. Coastal Areas (D-), Energy (D), Flood Control (D+), and School (D+) infrastructure received the worst grades.

“Florida is a critical part of our national infrastructure system,” said Maria Fernandez-Porrata, Chair of the Florida Section Government Relations Committee. “If our state cannot improve its infrastructure, then not only Floridians, but families across the country, are going to see prices rise, GDP shrink, and our economy remain stagnant.”

The report highlights work that needs to be done, but also shows some areas of improvement. The only category to raise its grade from 2008 was stormwater. The grade went up mostly due to more municipalities implementing stormwater utilities and assessing residents with stormwater rates.

“Florida ports, Florida roads, and Florida bridges are all responsible for bringing goods in and out of our country,” saying Eric Czerniejewski, Executive Director and Chair of the 2012 Report Card Committee. “As a state, we have fallen behind in building a modern infrastructure system that will be sustainable in a post-recession economy.”

Begin an adventure of the world's engineering feats, here. Then, click see more and continue to be amazed.

The Florida Report Card was created as a public service to the citizens and politicians of the state to inform them on the infrastructure needs in their community. By using grade school report card letter grades, civil engineers have used their expertise to condense complicated data into easy to understand analysis.

The 2012 Report Card for Florida’s Infrastructure is here. The Florida Report Card is based on the Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, which last gave the nation a D grade in 2009, and will be updated in early 2013. The 2009 America's Infrastructure Report Card is here.

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Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers represents more than 140,000 civil engineers worldwide and is America's oldest national engineering society. For more information, visit www.asce.org

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