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Highway bridge span over the valley

Source: Douglas Sacha / Getty

CLEVELAND — Northeast Ohio received a D+ grade for its overall infrastructure in an annual report card from the American Society of Civil Engineers, which was released Wednesday.

The report card gave the following grades for different parts of the infrastructure in Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain and Medina counties: C- for bridges, D+ for dams, C- for drinking water, D for energy, D+ for roads, D for schools and D+ for wastewater. A C ranking is defined as “mediocre, needs attention,” and a D ranking means “poor, at risk.”

The ASCE recommends four steps be taken to improve the infrastructure of the region.

They suggest the state increases gas and diesel taxes to pay for necessary road and bridge projects. The state’s fuel taxes have not increased since 2005, and by 2020, ODOT will face an annual budget shortfall of nearly $1 billion, when compared to what was available in 2014.

ASCE recommends that Northeast Ohio increases investment in infrastructure across all sectors. They argue that population decline can be slowed and even reversed when there is sustained investment in infrastructure to incentivize businesses to relocate or stay put.

 

READ MORE: News5Cleveland.com

Article Courtesy of WEWS News 5 Cleveland

First and Second Picture Courtesy of Douglas Sacha and Getty Images

LOCAL NEWS: Northeast Ohio Gets Low Scores on Its Infrastructure  was originally published on wzakcleveland.com