April 20, 2017

ASCE to issue 2017 Report Card for Louisiana Infrastructure

BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana section of the American Society of Civil Engineers next week will release the 2017 Report Card for Louisiana Infrastructure, a comprehensive report on vital systems designed to keep citizens safe, mobile, healthy and economically connected to the world.

The report is an updated version of the landmark 2012 Louisiana report that critically examined the condition, capacity, funding and future needs of Louisiana's building blocks. The 2017 version, produced by volunteer engineers across Louisiana, will examine and assign letter grades to aviation, bridges, coastal, dams, drinking water, inland waterways, levees, ports, roads, solid waste and waste water systems in the state.

"Our jobs, as professionals, are to plan, design, build and maintain these pieces of infrastructure," said Dr. Kam Movassaghi, executive director of the project. "Our duty, as civil engineers, is to inform the public and our political leaders of the condition of these systems and to use our expertise to advocate for the public's safety and welfare."

The 2017 Report Card for Louisiana Infrastructure is part of the national ASCE project to assign letter grades to the nation's infrastructure. All the research, analysis and grading of Louisiana's infrastructure was performed by Louisiana civil engineers.

Dr. Movassaghi said it is not a coincidence the report card will be released while the state legislature is in session.

"This report card has specific policy and funding recommendations that we want to put in front of our state's leaders," he said. "Much of our infrastructure is publically funded, and it is our job to let the owners of the infrastructure know what is needed."

The report card will be posted at www.infrastructurereportcard.org/louisiana after Wednesday's news conference.

The ASCE was founded in 1852 and is America's oldest national engineering society. Our mission is to provide value to our members and partners, advance civil engineering and serve the public good. To carry out that mission, ASCE advances technology, encourages lifelong learning, promotes professionalism and the profession, develops civil engineer leaders and advocates infrastructure and environmental stewardship. The Louisiana Section of ASCE was founded in 1914 and has more than 2,000 members in four branches: Acadiana, Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Shreveport.