2013 Report Card for Washington's Infrastructure

2013 REPORT CARD FOR

Washington's

INFRASTRUCTURE

ASCE Seattle Section ? 2013.

Table of Contents

2013 Report Card for Washington's Infrastructure

2013 Report Card for Washington's Infrastructure

Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................................ii About Washington's Infrastructure................................................................................................................1 Aviation ........................................................................................................................................................7 Bridges.......................................................................................................................................................15 Dams .........................................................................................................................................................23 Drinking Water ...........................................................................................................................................29 Rail.............................................................................................................................................................35 Roads ........................................................................................................................................................39 Schools ......................................................................................................................................................48 Solid and Hazardous Waste .......................................................................................................................57 Transit ........................................................................................................................................................64

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ASCE

Acknowledgments

ASCE Seattle Section President: Report Card Committee Chairs:

Legislature Correspondent: Technical Editing: ASCE National Representative:

Public Relations:

James Chae, PE

Laura Ruppert, PE Shane Binder, PE, PTOE

Larry Costich, PE, Attorney

Kristen Legg Brittney Kohler Clark Barrineau

Laura LaBissoniere Miller

Contributors

Category Aviation Bridges

Dams Drinking Water Rail

Author(s) JoLyn Gillie, PE Ben McElroy, EIT

Henry Haselton, PE Kathryn Gardow, PE Steve Metz, PE

Peer Reviewer(s)

WSDOT Aviation Division Kandace Harvey Aaron Butters, PE, Harvey Coffman, PE, SE, Kevin Kim, PE, David, McMullen, PE, Bruce Thill, PE, & Tom Whiteman, PE Jerald LaVassar Mark Ogden David Christensen Russell Porter, PE Hugh Fuller, PE

Roads Schools

Shane Binder, PE Ben McElroy, EIT

Attila Laszlo, PE

Steve Gorcester Reema Griffith Dr. Steve Muench, PE Industry Expert**

Solid & Hazardous Waste Stormwater*

Transit Waste Water*

Megan McCullough, PE Tucker Stevens, EIT Valerie Monsey, PE Amy Thatcher, PE

Stephanie Garbacik, EIT Michael Houston, EIT Raj. V. Naidu, PE

Industry Expert**

Paul Bucich Dave Catterson Andy Rheume Industry Expert**

To be determined*

*Category grade is not yet complete. **Anonymous peer review was performed by an industry expert.

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2013 Report Card for Washington's Infrastructure

Executiv e Summary

About Washington's Infrastructure

Infrastructure is the foundation of our economy and essential for our daily lives. Despite infrastructure's critical role in our communities, it is too often taken for granted. Without proper planning to fund and maintain Washington's infrastructure, these systems will continue to deteriorate, hurting Washington families and businesses.

The purpose of the 2013 Report Card for Washington's Infrastructure is to offer the public and policymakers an easy to understand assessment of how our infrastructure is doing and what needs attention. This report finds that Washington's infrastructure earned a cumulative GPA of C. The analysis was conducted over the past year by a team of infrastructure experts from the Seattle Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers. The 2013 Report Card for Washington's Infrastructure concludes that while Washington has many types of infrastructure and many great facilities across the state, a lack of planned and guaranteed funding and inadequate maintenance are reported across all nine categories -Aviation, Bridges, Dams, Drinking Water, Rail, Roads, Schools, Solid and Hazardous Waste, and Transit.

Just like a school report card, we provide a letter grade of A to F for each category. We examined the most up-to-

date publicly available information, and summarized the most pressing issues for each sector. As civil engineers in the

State of Washington, we have a

responsibility to safeguard the life, health, property, and welfare of

in?fra?struc?ture n.

the public.

1. An underlying base or foundation especially for an organization or system.

The 2013 Report Card provides us with a path ahead. Now, we must ask ourselves what kind of state we want to become. A C is

2. The basic facilities, services, and installations needed for the functioning of a community or society, such as transportation and communications systems, water and power lines, and public institutions including schools, post offices, and prisons.

unacceptable for anyone

concerned about Washington's ability to compete in a global world. Only by working together and investing

in our communities can we hope to build a strong foundation for Washington's future.

How Can We Raise Washington's Infrastructure Grades?

Recommendations for improvement specific to each infrastructure category are included with every summary, but these overreaching recommendations are present in each category:

1. Find Long-Term Funding. Identify sustainable sources of funding and explore innovative financing. 2. Use Regulation for Service and Safety. Design standards are necessary to protect and maintain high

level of service and safety standards. 3. Plan to Implement Sustainability. Continued assessment and planning efforts to identify and prioritize

infrastructure needs. Implement maintenance and retrofit solutions to the extent practical.

ASCE's vision for infrastructure is to commit to bringing existing infrastructure into a state-of-good-repair in the short term, and in the long-term we work to modernize and build in a targeted and strategic manner. By focusing on these three recommendations, we believe we can raise the grades in Washington.

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