ASCE Gives U.S. Infrastructure a C- Grade: What Builders Need to Know About the 2021 Report Card

For the first time in two decades, America’s infrastructure has crawled out of the D range. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) assigned the nation’s infrastructure an overall grade of C- in its 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, marking incremental but meaningful progress. However, the reality behind that single letter grade is far more sobering: 11 of the 17 categories evaluated still scored in the D range, indicating significant deterioration and a strong risk of failure. For contractors and engineers on the front lines of infrastructure renewal, the report serves as both a benchmark and a call to arms. The $5.9 trillion price tag over the next decade to bring roads, bridges, airports, and water systems to a safe and sustainable level represents a massive opportunity and underscores how far the country still has to go. As we explore the implications of the ASCE report card, it is worth examining why US infrastructure needs a new engineering approach to meet these challenges effectively.

The 2021 Report Card: Breaking Down the Grades

The ASCE has issued the Report Card for America’s Infrastructure every four years since 1998. The 2021 edition was the first to lift the overall grade point average out of the D range, moving from a D+ in 2017 to a C- in 2021. While that shift represents real progress, the details beneath the headline grade reveal persistent and troubling deficiencies across the majority of infrastructure categories.

Category-by-Category Grade Breakdown

The full picture of America’s infrastructure health emerges only when examining the individual grades assigned to the 17 categories assessed by ASCE. The range is wide, from a B for Rail down to a D- for Transit.

The contrast is stark: while Rail and Ports earned relatively strong marks, categories that carry the heaviest daily burden for Americans — Roads (D), Transit (D-), Stormwater (D), and Levees (D) — remain in critical condition. As Greg DiLoreto, a past president of ASCE, noted, families are losing thousands of dollars a year in disposable income because of crumbling infrastructure.

The Road Funding Crisis: $786 Billion Backlog and a Failing Highway Trust Fund

Roads received a D grade, and the reasons are well documented. America’s roads are the backbone of the nation’s freight and passenger movement, yet 43% of the system is now in poor or mediocre condition. The backlog of road and bridge capital needs stands at $786 billion, with the bulk of that figure ($435 billion) tied up in repairing existing roads. Bridge repair accounts for $125 billion, targeted system expansion $120 billion, and system enhancement projects $105 billion.

The Highway Trust Fund Problem

Federal investment in roads has historically relied on a dedicated user-fee-funded source: the Highway Trust Fund. But this funding mechanism has been nearing insolvency for nearly 15 years. The federal motor fuels tax of 18.4 cents per gallon on gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon on diesel has not been raised since 1993. Inflation has eroded its purchasing power by more than 40%, and more fuel-efficient vehicles compound the problem by generating less revenue per mile traveled.

The ASCE report projected that by 2022 the Highway Trust Fund would face a $15 billion deficit, as spending levels consistently exceed revenues from user fees. This structural funding gap is one of the most pressing policy challenges facing infrastructure renewal in the United States. For construction contractors, the uncertainty around federal funding makes long-term planning and equipment investment difficult.

How the Funding Shortfall Affects Construction Contractors

• Delayed project starts: State DOTs cannot commit to multi-year programs without reliable federal funding, leading to boom-and-bust cycles in highway construction contracting.
• Deferred maintenance compounds costs: Every dollar not spent on preventive maintenance today adds $4 to $5 in future rehabilitation costs, according to FHWA studies.
• Workforce instability: Inconsistent project pipelines make it harder for contractors to retain skilled crews and invest in training programs.
• Equipment utilization challenges: Contractors struggle to manage fleet capacity when project timing is unpredictable.

These challenges directly affect the cost and quality of bringing concrete and asphalt manhole casings up to grade, a routine infrastructure restoration task that becomes much more expensive when deferred.

ASCE’s Five-Point Plan to Raise the Roads Grade

The ASCE report did not stop at diagnosing problems. It offered five specific recommendations for raising the nation’s roads grade, and these form a practical roadmap for policymakers and construction professionals alike.

1. Prioritize Preservation Over Expansion

The nation will never be able to fully build its way out of congestion. The ASCE recommends focusing resources on preserving a state of good repair rather than chasing endless capacity expansion. This means policies aimed at improving travel time reliability and maximizing the capacity of the existing road network through operational improvements, intelligent transportation systems, and multimodal integration.

2. Increase Funding From All Levels

Funding must increase from all levels of government and the private sector. The report calls for addressing the condition and operations of the roadway system to maintain a state of good repair and ensure safety for all users. This includes exploring public-private partnerships as a viable tool for project delivery.

3. Fix the Highway Trust Fund

The ASCE specifically recommends raising the federal motor fuels tax by five cents each year over five years. To ensure long-term, sustainable funding, the user fee should be tied to inflation to restore its purchasing power. Without this fix, the funding deficit will only deepen as vehicle fuel efficiency continues to improve and electric vehicle adoption accelerates.

4. Implement Asset Management Plans

State and local transportation agencies should develop comprehensive asset management plans that link infrastructure investments to long-term planning goals. These plans must incorporate life-cycle cost analysis, ensuring that decisions are made with a full understanding of long-term maintenance and rehabilitation needs rather than just initial construction costs.

5. Invest in Resilience

The report calls for dedicated federal investments to build resilience into the nation’s road and bridge infrastructure. Resilience planning should be integrated into State Transportation Asset Management Plans, with a focus on designing infrastructure that can withstand extreme weather events, flooding, and seismic activity. This recommendation has only grown more urgent in the years since the report was published.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg summarized the urgency well: “A generation of disinvestment is catching up to us, and we must choose whether to allow our global competitors to pull ahead permanently, or to invest in the safety, equity, resilience and economic strength that superior infrastructure can bring to Americans.”

The $5.9 Trillion Investment Gap and What It Means for Infrastructure Construction

The ASCE estimated that $5.9 trillion in investment is needed over the next decade to bring America’s infrastructure to a safe and sustainable level. That figure dwarfs current spending levels by approximately $2.6 trillion. To put the scale in perspective, the entire infrastructure package proposed by the Biden administration at the time was roughly $2 trillion.

Sector-by-Sector Investment Needs

• Surface transportation (roads, bridges, and highways): $1.6 trillion represents the largest single chunk, reflecting the sheer size of the network and the depth of deferred maintenance.
• Drinking water and wastewater: Combined needs exceed $1.2 trillion, with aging pipes and treatment plants across the country requiring urgent attention.
• Energy grid: Modernization needs are estimated at several hundred billion dollars, driven by renewable energy integration and grid hardening requirements.
• Aviation and airports: Terminal upgrades, runway rehabilitation, and capacity expansion projects are needed nationwide.
• Inland waterways and ports: Aging locks, dams, and channel deepening projects are critical for maintaining U.S. economic competitiveness.

Opportunities for Contractors

For construction contractors, the infrastructure investment gap represents both a challenge and a generational opportunity. The scale of work required spans every discipline:

1. Pavement rehabilitation and reconstruction: With 43% of roads in poor or mediocre condition, milling, overlay, and full-depth reclamation projects will dominate state and local lettings for years to come.
2. Bridge repair and replacement: Over 42% of bridges are at least 50 years old, creating a sustained pipeline of structural steel, concrete, and foundation work.
3. Water and sewer infrastructure: Lead service line replacement, wastewater treatment plant upgrades, and stormwater management systems represent a massive underground construction market.
4. Transit and rail modernization: Station rehabilitation, track replacement, and signal system upgrades will require specialized construction expertise.
5. Resilience and climate adaptation: Sea walls, levee improvements, drainage upgrades, and flood mitigation projects are becoming a permanent fixture of public works programs.

The breadth of this work underscores the importance of revamping healthcare infrastructure alongside traditional transportation projects. Roads, water systems, energy networks, and public buildings are interdependent components of a functioning economy.

Modernizing Infrastructure Delivery

Meeting the $5.9 trillion challenge will require more than just additional funding. It demands a fundamental shift in how infrastructure is planned, designed, and delivered. Digital construction technologies including building information modeling, automated machine guidance, drone-based surveying, and project management platforms can improve productivity and reduce waste. Embracing these tools is part of building smart infrastructure that not only meets today’s needs but anticipates tomorrow’s demands.

Key Takeaways for Industry Professionals

• The C- overall grade masks deep problems: 11 of 17 categories received D grades, and these categories represent the infrastructure systems Americans rely on daily.
• The Highway Trust Fund crisis must be addressed through sustainable, long-term funding mechanisms. A gas tax increase tied to inflation is the most straightforward fix.
• Deferred maintenance is the single largest contributor to the $5.9 trillion investment gap. Preventive preservation is dramatically more cost-effective than reactive reconstruction.
• Resilience and climate adaptation must be integrated into every infrastructure project going forward.
• Technology adoption offers the most promising path to closing the productivity gap and delivering more infrastructure per dollar spent.

The ASCE’s 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure is not just a scorecard. It is a strategic document that defines the scale and shape of the infrastructure challenge facing the United States. For construction professionals who understand the grade breakdown, the funding dynamics, and the sector-specific opportunities, it is also a roadmap for the work ahead. The path from C- to B will require sustained investment, policy reform, and a commitment to building smarter, more resilient infrastructure for the next generation.