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September 19, 2003  

I was hardly surprised earlier this month when the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) released a "report card" outlining the inadequate condition of our nation's infrastructure. As Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Highways, Transit and Pipelines, I hear about deteriorating and traffic-clogged roads and bridges practically every day.

Think of the Hoan Bridge in Milwaukee which carried 37,000 vehicles a day throughout most of 2000, but which had to be totally closed to traffic for a couple of months starting in December of that year because a section cracked, buckled and sagged three to four feet.

The ASCE's concerns go well beyond roads and bridges to include school buildings, drinking water and waste treatment, dams, navigable waterways, aviation facilities and so on. As a whole, the association estimates that, somehow, we have to come up with $1.6 trillion over the next five years in order to bring the infrastructure to an "acceptable" level.

This, of course, is dismaying news given all the other demands on federal, state and local treasuries - needs such as the War on Terrorism abroad, homeland security, prescription drug coverage in Medicare, and so much more. Dismaying or not, we need to bring new urgency to our infrastructure needs. If you have a leaky roof, it won't do to ignore the problem until the wood rots and the structure starts to collapse.

While the ASCE report was national in scope, the organization provided some specifics about our state which serve to illustrate the problem.

For instance, approximately 20 percent of Wisconsin's bridges are in need of replacement or rehabilitation. This represents a considerable improvement over the past 20 years, but more funding is needed to continue reducing the backlog of deficient bridges.

Fifty percent of our schools are more than 40 years old. Fifty-seven percent report maintenance budgets as "less than adequate" to raise the overall condition of schools to "good." An estimated $1.6 billion in additional funding is needed to bring the state's K-12 public schools to "good condition."

Our water supply infrastructure is in good condition, but new regulatory standards for water quality, combined with declining groundwater levels and aging treatment facilities, will require more than $3 billion over the next 20 years.

Our dams are not being inspected as required and repair grants have been curtailed due to lack of funding. The state's floodplain ordinances and codes are well designed, but our "hazard" maps are out of date.

While Wisconsin has proactively encouraged cleanup of hazardous waste sites, thousands of sites still need remediation, and that will cost billions of dollars.

As Vice Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I have major responsibilities in many of these areas. Making progress is frustrating, however.