Florida's infrastructure report card: How do our roads, water, ports and more stack up?

How is Florida s infrastructure such as roads schools bridges ports and more holding up According to the American Society of Civil Engineers review card for America s infrastructure the Sunshine State gets a C grade overall in its assessment The statement card comes out every four years Florida has implemented particular of the the greater part resilient infrastructure designs in the nation to keep systems running during major storms but additional planning is needed to bring all sectors to a state of good repair according to the ASCE According to the ASCE s standards an A grade is exceptional B is good C is mediocre D is poor and F is failing Let s break down each category Aviation C Miami International Airport D A Varela Miami Herald Tribune News Operation via Getty Images Improvements to Florida s aviation will boost the state s business activity since it is critical to business and tourism progress the ASCE mentioned The industry contributes to over jobs up from years ago and its economic impact has grown to billion in Florida s overall airfield pavement in fair to good condition slipped from to from to The Florida Department of Transportation FDOT identified that airports are in need of billion in funding Bridges B Florida s bridges remained consistently and significantly above the national level earning a good grade from the ASCE In nearly of Florida bridges were in good condition compared to the national value of Only about of Florida s bridges were in poor condition compared to more than nationally Coastal areas C- Tourists bustle along Clearwater Beach in Florida on this hot Saturday Photo by Ronaldo Silva NurPhoto via Getty Images Florida s coastal areas are in need of notable work approximately of the miles of sandy shoreline are showing signs of erosion with identified as critically eroded The ASCE recognized local municipalities are making strides in coastal restoration beaches reduce storm damage to coastal infrastructure and communities but natural erosion and coastal advancement still threaten Florida s coast Dams D- Florida has nearly dams with an average age of years versus the national average of years Ninety-eight of them are High Hazard Anticipated HHP meaning that if the dam failed loss of life or economic damage would be expected Only of the HHP dams have an urgency plan on record compared with nationally Drinking water C Drinking water sources in the Sunshine State received a mediocre grade with infrastructure improvements estimated to be at billion over the next years Florida is also considered a national leader in the reuse of reclaimed water and makes up of all water supply projects Potential C Utility workers supervised by Florida Power and Light work on a transformer in Punta Gorda Florida on October Photo by Thomas O Neill NurPhoto via Getty Images Florida is among the five states with the shortest outage duration less than minutes per outage ASCE cites that the state s major power companies such as Florida Power and Light and Duke Vitality plan to spend billions annually to optimize and improve Companies are also continuing to invest in renewable power sources such as solar Levees D Florida s more than levee systems with over miles of infrastructure have reached an average age of years Forty percent of the state s levees were assessed as low vulnerability Ports B MIAMI FLORIDA APRIL Shipping containers are offloaded from a cargo ship at PortMiami on April in Miami Florida U S Photo by Joe Raedle Getty Images Florida has seaports that contribute greatly to the state s economic value billion and generate nearly jobs More than billion was invested from to for improvements across all seaports Roads C ASCE says guidance for roads namely the state s fuel taxes and state appropriations have increased between and from billion to more than billion The state keeps pace with its growing necessities but FDOT is also focusing on building resilience tending to its growing elderly population and will need to innovate its transportation system Schools D The average age of Florida s school buildings nearly K- schools is years old The state has increased funding from motor automobile licensing and gross receipt taxes by nearly million but the available funding is still not sufficient to meet the requirements Solid waste B Florida s permanent residents and tourists generate nearly triple the national per capita average of pounds of Municipal Solid Waste per day The solid waste infrastructure in Florida is good with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection having programs in place to protect natural guidance and waste handling However there are opportunities to improve recycling and reuse programs Stormwater C- Miami Beach Florida employee maintaining bioswale drainage swale Canopy Park stormwater runoff state change Photo by Jeffrey Greenberg Universal Images Group via Getty Images Thirty-five percent of local governing bodies published having a stormwater activity to fund and maintain the infrastructure but about million is needed per stormwater entity In May Senate Bill was signed to designate million to help the implementation of projects in the Statewide Flooding and Sea Level Rise Resilience Plan Transit C Florida s transit provides millions of people with automobile bus paratransit rail and ferry services ASCE says the state s local funds and multi-regional expansions address operational necessities and state and federal funds have increased to fill particular gaps and contribute to capital investments Wastewater C ASCE called Florida a national leader in reclaimed wastewater and setting adaptation due to partnerships among utilities universities and industry leaders Frequent and extreme weather events increasingly overwhelm smaller systems Click here for a full look at Florida s record