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Engineers report gives state poor grades on infrastructure; says upgrades needed for state to keep pace economically Date published: 10/16/2009
BY CHELYEN DAVIS
RICHMOND--A state association of engineers has graded Virginia's infrastructure a D+ and says elected officials must commit sustainable, long-term funding for the state to remain economically competitive. The Virginia chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers spent the past year evaluating data on Virginia's dams, roads, bridges, wastewater-treatment plants, schools, ports and other infrastructure. The results, the group says, show that Virginia is failing to adequately maintain its aging infrastructure, in large part by failing to provide a steady stream of money to pay for such maintenance that's not subject to annual allocation decisions by legislators. If the state continues to ignore infrastructure needs, they said, it will be less economically competitive against other states with more modern systems. "If we don't address it we're going to be left behind," said Virginia ASCE president Tom Fitzgerald. "You can't just assume [infrastructure] is going to last forever . We can keep ignoring this stuff, but the cost to fix it once it fails is 10 times as much." Fitzgerald said Virginia sorely needs dedicated, reliable funding for infrastructure maintenance, as well as comprehensive planning for long-term infrastructure needs. "Our problem is failure to implement and failure to fund in Virginia," he said, calling the lack of money "a failure of political leadership." The difficulty with funding is that raising taxes and fees is never popular. No one wants to pay more in gas taxes or higher water bills. But Fitzgerald said he believes in users of infrastructure paying for it. "Politicians can say they're going to fund something, but where are they going to get the money? It comes from us," he said. He added that maintaining and improving infrastructure is critical to preserving the strength of America. "Unless we invest in our infrastructure, we're not going to have that," Fitzgerald said. The ASCE hopes its report will help educate Virginians about the problem, and that people can then push state and local officials to spend more. The ASCE itself doesn't have a political arm, Fitzgerald said, and doesn't lobby legislators, preferring to simply present facts. More than 20 engineers volunteered to do research for the report, and they also got elected officials, transportation employees and other experts to participate.
Date published: 10/16/2009
a higher tax assessment and pay higher taxes than a small, less expensive home. Most are more energy efficient than small homes. So what's the beef?
subdivisions with expensive homes are typically on larger lots meaning less density. It seems to me that large homes are better for the environment and the economy than smaller homes.
So, let's build more McMansion and no more shotgun shacks!
proffers for infrastructure - we make them "unaffordable"
this is sort of like saying charging for water/sewer hookups make a house
"unaffordable" - NOT!
but when new houses need new roads and new schools and libraries - we
say charging for those things means people cannot afford their
McMansions anymore.
then the 'no mo tax" contingent thinks we have have more people and
more cars and more homes but we can pay for the infrastructure needs by
cutting waste & abuse..
“WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY AND HE IS US!
to the commonwealth. a third world state we are.
means an increase in taxes. As long as the bridge I'm driving over holds up, & my drinking water remains potable... But what if they don't? Candidates for office will tell me new taxes aren't necessary, the funds can be wrung from "waste" in the government. Like, perhaps, their salaries?
We have our very own obstructionist Speaker of the House of Delegates, Bill Howell to thank for this mess. He has gutted VDOT, trampled education, and destroyed infrastructure funding just so he could sell our roads to foreign companies who had to take back their illegal campaign contributions a few years ago.
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