ASCE's 2025 Texas Infrastructure Report Card gives a 'C' grade overall, with two categories improving and six declining since 2021. Investments at federal, state and local levels balance out aging infrastructure challenges. Recommendations include continued funding, policy improvement, updates in engineering standards and asset management prioritization.
The Texas Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) released on Feb. 18 the 2025 Texas Infrastructure Report Card, assigning 16 categories of infrastructure a cumulative grade of "C," which is one notch ahead of the national average of "C-" from the 2021 Report Card for America's Infrastructure.
This is the same grade Texas received in its last report in 2021, citing significant population growth, surging energy demands and increasingly severe weather events putting strain on an aging infrastructure network. However, these stressors have been balanced out by record investments at the federal level and proactive state and local measures.
Of the 16 categories, two (aviation and roads) saw grade increases, while six (drinking water, energy, levees, solid waste, transit and wastewater) saw grade decreases compared to the 2021 report. Four new chapters were added to this year's report (broadband, hazardous waste, ports and rail).
The grades for each category are below:
Grade Categories
B aviation
B- bridges
C+ hazardous waste, ports, solid waste
C energy, rail
C- public parks, roads, stormwater
D+ broadband, dams, drinking water, transit
D- levees, wastewater
"Infrastructure is the backbone of our communities, promotes the safety of our families and connects everyone across our state," said Austin Messerli, co-chair, Texas Infrastructure Report Card Committee, ASCE Texas Section. "The Texas Infrastructure Report Card not only helps us recognize the progress we've made, but it also serves as a call to action. By investing in and improving our infrastructure today, we are laying the groundwork for a stronger, more resilient future that will benefit future generations."
The report notes that surging population growth and business activity is straining transportation, water and energy infrastructure needed to sustain this growth. An influx of funding from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and state and local initiatives have helped improve or maintain conditions in the transportation sector, as aviation (B) and roads (C-) were the only two grades to improve, while bridges (B-) remains one of the highest-performing categories.
Each of Texas' major airports is undergoing expansion projects and 98 percent of commercial runway pavement is in fair or good condition. TxDOT's $100 billion Texas Clear Lanes Initiative has led to 18 fully completed projects, 25 that are under construction, and another 62 that are planned to improve roadway efficiency.
Only 1.2 percent of bridges are listed in poor condition, which is the third lowest rate in the nation. Texas' 56,000 bridges, twice the number of any other state, carry approximately 616 million vehicles per day, which underscores the necessity of these three sectors to be performing adequately if Texas wishes to sustain its population and economic growth and promote public safety.
Posted load restrictions on aging bridges, bottlenecks on poorly designed roads and cargo delays at airports all dramatically slow economic activity and the movement of goods and services. American households and businesses benefit when these systems are in a state of good repair, and the report finds that Texas has prioritized these categories in recent years.
As new residents and businesses flood the state, a rise in electrification and energy-consuming data centers has led to a sharp rise in energy demands, as needs have risen by a projected 50,000 Megawatts (MW) in the past year. The 2025 report added generation infrastructure to its energy assessment, as opposed to strictly focusing on transmission and distribution lines, to better encapsulate all of Texas' robust energy network. This change, plus rising demands and vulnerabilities exposed by winter storms caused the grade to drop from a "B+" in 2021 to a "C" in 2025.
Drinking water (D+, down from C- in 2021), stormwater (C-), and wastewater (D-, down from D in 2021) are struggling to meet demands as systems age and funding fails to match current and future needs. Winter storms in early 2021 caused 40 percent of water utilities to issue boil water notices. While there is not an inventory of water main breaks across the state, each water connection loses roughly 30 gal. of treated water per day due to leaking pipelines.
Texas agencies and departments have taken action to address these issues, such as the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) requiring all water utilities to have emergency preparation plans in response to outage events; the state developed its first comprehensive State Flood Plan to identify risks and solutions for stormwater infrastructure; and between 2020 and 2024, the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) has provided close to $2.19B in funding for nearly 165 projects throughout the state. These are some examples of progress addressing drinking water, stormwater and wastewater infrastructure needs, but far more investment is necessary.
The 2025 Texas Infrastructure Report Card recommendations to raise the grades include:
• Continue investments in Texas infrastructure by appropriating funding and revenues to their respective source; injecting funding through grant programs and low-interest loans; adopting appropriate fees with periodic review for rate adjustments; and by investing in research and advancement of technology for efficiency.
• Drive sound policy and standards that ensure safety, efficiency and reliability for projects across all categories. The framework of sound policy fosters design innovation, enhancing infrastructure systems' functionality and resilience.
• Continue reviews and modernization of engineering standards that incorporate innovation and minimize risks and vulnerabilities to our infrastructure networks.
• Prioritize asset management and planning, which allows owners to plan, manage, optimize investments, and allocate resources effectively.
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