The Philadelphia Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) recently announced the release of the 2014 Report Card for Pennsylvania Infrastructure (Report Card) at a Press Conference at 30th Street Station.

Using a simple A to F school report card format, the 2014 Report Card provides a comprehensive assessment of current infrastructure conditions and needs, assigns grades, and makes recommendations for how to raise the grades. ASCE members in Pennsylvania assign the grades according to the following seven criteria: capacity, condition, funding, future need, operation and maintenance, public safety, and resilience.

Urban assisted in the Report Card by assessing transit and ports infrastructure. The four Sections of ASCE in Pennsylvania (Central Pennsylvania, Lehigh Valley, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh) have developed and released the Report Card every four years since 2006. Together the four ASCE Sections in Pennsylvania represent nearly 6,000 members of the civil engineering profession.

The goal of the 2014 Report Card is to raise the public’s awareness of need for increased investment in the Commonwealth’s infrastructure, and to applaud the recent passage of the funding bills that will help raise the infrastructure grades as projects get completed. An additional goal is to give policymakers solid recommendations that the Commonwealth can use to better regulate and fund infrastructure.