91视频

By Nate Beck

91视频 Newswire

President Joe Biden’s administration on Monday released a state-by-state breakdown of U.S. infrastructure needs, assigning Oregon a 鈥淐-minus鈥� letter grade, as it tries to build support for a $2.3 trillion infrastructure improvement package.

Each state received a letter grade reflecting the condition of its infrastructure, and Oregon’s C-minus is representative of its more than 1,200 miles of roads and nearly 400 bridges rated in poor condition. The administration drew on a variety of public and private data sources to form its grades for state infrastructure.

Oregon’s letter grade mirrors the聽overall grade it聽earned聽in a report聽from the American Society of Civil Engineers in 2019. That trade group overall, finding many of its roads in substandard condition.聽U.S. infrastructure nationally聽received a 鈥淐-minus鈥� from ASCE in a report last month.

Biden’s infrastructure plan overall calls for spending $115 billion to聽repair聽20,000 miles of roads across the U.S. 鈥� a figure that would scratch the surface of the country’s needs. California alone, for instance, has more than 14,000 miles of roads in disrepair.

The administration says commute times have risen 7 percent in Oregon over the past decade, while the average driver in the state spends some $256 annually on vehicle maintenance as a result of poor infrastructure.

The report also outlines a variety of other infrastructure needs in Oregon:

• Over the next two decades, the state will need to spend $6.3 billion on its drinking water infrastructure. Biden’s package would dedicate $111 billion to drinking water infrastructure.
• Biden’s plan would invest $100 billion in broadband infrastructure nationally. In Oregon, nearly 10 percent of residents do not have access to any broadband providers that meet minimally acceptable speeds. Another 45 percent of residents live in areas with only one such provider.
• Some 296,000 Oregon residents are rent-burdened 鈥� meaning they spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing. Biden’s proposal would spend $200 billion to increase housing supply.
• Schools in the state face about $857 million in infrastructure needs, while 60 percent of residents live in a 鈥渃hild care desert,鈥� where there are three children for every available slot at a child care facility. Biden’s plan says it will 鈥渕odernize鈥� child care facilities and schools.
• Biden’s plan would also invest $18 billion in VA health care facilities. More than 300,000 veterans live in Oregon. About half are over the age of 65.