Danny X. Xiao
- Emphasis on infrastructure critical to help fill $13 billion gap for roads and bridges in Wisconsin.
- Danny Xiao, Wisconsin Section President of the American Society of Civil Engineers, applauded Gov. Tony Evers’ state of state address for highlighting infrastructure.
- Poor pipes means some 26 billion gallons of water is lost every year.
Infrastructure is the backbone of Wisconsin’s economy and residents’ way of life. Airports, roads, bridges, ports and inland waterways move goods and services throughout the state, while the energy grid keeps businesses up and running. Drinking water, wastewater and stormwater systems keep Wisconsinites healthy.
Despite the crucial role these systems play in our daily lives, infrastructure investment has long been overlooked. Wisconsin’s roads and bridges were facing an estimated $13 billion over 10 years according to WisDOT’s most recent Keep Wisconsin Moving report. Nearly 1,000 bridges have received ‘poor condition’ ratings.
According to ASCE, each U.S. household loses approximately $3,300 per year due to inefficient or faulty infrastructure systems. Continued prioritization of infrastructure improvements will reduce financial burdens on Wisconsinites and allow for greater economic efficiency throughout the state.
Gov. Tony Evers’ state of the state address (Jan. 24) highlighted the importance of the state’s infrastructure network, which was given a cumulative grade of ‘C’ by the Wisconsin section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in its 2020 Report Card for Wisconsin’s Infrastructure. Evers specifically pointed out investments made in recent years to improve roads and bridges, as well as the state’s devotion to providing clean drinking water to all residents. Although a ‘C’ is nothing to brag about, it is higher than ASCE’s grade for the entire nation of a ‘C-‘ given in 2021.
This focus, paired with investments coming from the 2021 $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law – the largest federal infrastructure investment in U.S. history – is a sign of progress that will protect residents and allow businesses to thrive.
The bipartisan infrastructure law provides Wisconsin with $5.5 billion over five years for road and bridge projects, cutting drastically into the estimated funding shortfall of. These investments can help improve roadway conditions, of which at least two-thirds of major roads were rated as ‘fair’ or ‘poor’.
The law also allocated more than $800 million to Wisconsin to improve water infrastructure systems over five years, a significant step in the right direction for a sector facing an estimated funding gap over more than $8 billion over the next two decades. Each year, Wisconsin water systems lose approximately 26 billion gallons of treated water to leaks. That’s water that we’re paying to clean and treat that never makes it to the tap.
These investments could not have come at a better time. Wisconsin’s roads, bridges, water pipelines, power transmission and distribution lines, and more were built decades ago, prior to increasingly severe weather trends and rapid population growth. Our greater understanding of the health risks associated with lead water pipes and of emerging contaminants such as PFAS in our water supply pose fresh challenges for engineers and public health officials. Heavier vehicles and denser traffic means roads and bridges will degrade faster. These factors, along with many more, make infrastructure spending a crucial component to the vitality of Wisconsin communities.
Federal investment is only one piece of the puzzle. The private sector plays a pivotal role in improving structures and, as Gov. Evers alluded to in his address, state and local agencies must help close the investment gap.
Despite our challenges, Wisconsin’s leaders and state and local agencies have done an admirable job addressing issues within our built environment. In June of 2022, Evers announced nearly $150 million in funding for local road projects. The emergence of renewable energy sources has equipped the state with adequate energy capacity for the next several years, and Evers has established the Office of Sustainable & Clean Energy with a target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. And as precipitation levels rise, 120 Wisconsin municipalities have implemented stormwater utilities to fund their local stormwater programs, setting an example for the rest of the Midwest.
Danny Xiao is the Wisconsin Section President of the American Society of Civil Engineers and is an associate professor of civil engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) represents more than 140,000 members of the civil engineering profession worldwide and is America’s oldest national engineering society. The Wisconsin Section of ASCE represents more than 2,000 engineers throughout the state seeking to advance the profession and educate the public on infrastructure issues.