Grades across 14 categories range from ‘B-’ for Aviation, Dams and Rail, to ‘D+’ for Levees, Roads and Schools
DENVER — The Colorado Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) released the 2025 Report Card for Colorado's Infrastructure today, assigning 14 categories of infrastructure across the state a cumulative ‘C-’ grade. This is the same grade the committee issued in its 2020 report card and is one step below the national infrastructure grade of “C” from ASCE’s 2025 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, which was just released in March.
Colorado decision makers have invested in improving the state’s built environment, but challenges that include increasingly extreme weather events, 39% population growth since 2000, and aging assets have put strain on these critical networks, which contributes to the grade remaining at “C-”.
Two of the 14 categories (Dams and Wastewater) covered by the report card saw grade increases, while three categories (Aviation, Energy, Roads) saw their grades drop. The report card also includes a new category - Stormwater - which was not part of the 2020 report.
The grade for each category is below:
Grade Categories
B- Aviation, Dams, Rail
C+ Bridges
C Energy, Public Parks, Wastewater
C- Drinking Water, Solid Waste, Stormwater, Transit
D+ Levees, Schools
“The dedicated team of engineers who worked on this report care deeply about maintaining and improving the infrastructure systems responsible for keeping our heat on in the winter and cool air in the summer, our roads safe and efficient, and our water systems clear of harmful substances,” said T. Deniz Uludag, Ph.D., chair, 2025 Report Card for Colorado’s Infrastructure. “Our report finds that state leadership, agencies and the private sector are working admirably to keep these systems in good standing, but we are up against mounting external stressors and must double down on these efforts to ensure Coloradoans have a built environment they can rely on.”
Recent investments in transportation networks at local, state, and federal levels have helped Colorado take action to improve or expand the systems that connect residents and fuel economic activity. Aviation (B-) is tied for the highest grade in the report, citing the expansion at Denver International Airport (DEN) to increase passenger capacity to 100 million annual passengers. DEN supports more than 240,000 jobs and generates $45 billion in annual revenue for Colorado. However, the grade went down due to many smaller airports seeing increased passenger traffic, which is pushing existing facilities to their limits. The state’s bridges received a “C+” grade, one notch ahead of the national grade of “C”, as only 4.8% of the state’s bridges are in poor condition (compared to the national average of 6.5%). The state has identified more than 1,200 bridges in need of repair, costing an estimated $1.1 billion. Colorado has added funding sources such as the Bridge and Tunnel Enterprise, which collects $125 million annually collected from vehicle registrations, and is expected to generate $500 million over the course of a decade.
Colorado’s roads decreased from a “C-” in 2020 to a “D+” in the 2025 report. Colorado’s road network is under significant strain due to rapid population growth, aging infrastructure, and challenging mountainous terrain, with only 34% of roads in good condition (less than the national average of 45% in good condition) and drivers facing high costs from congestion and vehicle wear. Despite recent funding increases, including an additional $5.3 billion in state investments over 10 years and $3.7 billion in federal support, the state still faces a $350 million annual shortfall to maintain and improve its transportation system. The state has begun implementing electric vehicle (EV) fees, but its $57.19 EV registration fee is the lowest in the nation. Colorado has seen a spike in vehicle deaths over the last 20 years, with a 26% increase occurring from 2015-2024.
Like many states in the west, Colorado faces ongoing concerns about the stability of its water supply due to growing population and more frequent drought conditions. The state has a projected $10 billion funding gap for drinking water networks (“C-”) over the next decade, and a looming 740,000 acre-foot annual water shortfall by 2050. Rivers that originate in Colorado supply water to people in 19 states and Mexico – only 40% of these resources stay within Colorado. The state’s water infrastructure, much of which is over 50 years old, needs to move water across complicated terrains, adding strain to these aging pipelines; 80% of water lies west of the Continental Divide, while 90% of Colorado residents live east of the Continental Divide.
Despite these challenges, the state’s wastewater grade improved from a “C-” to a “C” due to major rehabilitation projects underway, such as Denver’s six-year pipe and manhole repair initiative which will repair 12.5 miles of pipes and 60 manholes between 2024 and 2025. However, wastewater facilities face an estimated $6.2 billion in maintenance and modernization costs and existing user fees are insufficient for covering these needs, particularly as harmful substances such as PFAS infiltrate water networks and are costly to remove. Weather-driven and man-made disasters, like the Marshall fire, have devastated communities and impacted infrastructure systems. The Marshall fire destroyed more than 1,000 structures and stemmed from a downed power line. Energy went from a “C+” in 2020 to a “C” in 2025, citing 20 major power outages since the last report. Utilities are investing in resilience measures and smart grid technology to prevent outages and meet growing demands, although capacity remains a concern. As of July 2023, Colorado had only 237 megawatts (MW) of energy storage capacity, leaving the grid vulnerable to supply-demand imbalances during peak periods. Colorado continues to generate about 57,000 GWh annually (average of 2020–2024), but the energy mix has shifted significantly. Coal-fired power plants reduced their share to 28% in 2024, down from over 35% in 2020. Renewable energy such as solar and wind accounted for 41% of Colorado's electricity generation in 2024, up from 27% in 2020.
The report card includes recommendations to raise the grades, including:
1. Invest in asset management: Plan for the full life cycle of infrastructure projects at inception to mitigate potential failures and protect the public health, safety, and well-being of communities. Infrastructure owners and maintainers should clearly establish responsibility and procedures for regularly assessing conditions and upkeeping data as a first step to asset management.
2. Prioritize resilience: Undertake regional partnerships in infrastructure planning for a holistic approach to intertwined needs and challenges. Adopt the most up-to-date design codes to ensure infrastructure projects are more resilient to the challenges of modern-day usage and climate. Infrastructure agencies should adopt the Envision Sustainable Infrastructure framework to promote resiliency in their work.
3. Strengthen intergovernmental partnerships: Prioritize partnerships across all levels of government within Colorado and at the national level. Promote and regulate safety at both the state and national levels to protect communities across Colorado, especially those in historically underrepresented, rural, and climate-vulnerable areas.
4. Engage communities as infrastructure stakeholders: Recognize the public as active stakeholders in infrastructure, as they are the primary users. In Colorado, where TABOR limits public funding decisions, clear communication with residents is especially critical. Education and outreach efforts should aim to build mutual trust between government entities and the public.
The report card was created as a public service to inform citizens and policymakers about infrastructure needs in Colorado. Civil engineers use their expertise and school report card-style letter grades to condense complicated data into an easy-to-understand analysis of Colorado’s infrastructure network. ASCE State report cards are modeled after the Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, which is released once every four years. The 2025 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure assigned America’s infrastructure a ‘C’ grade, the highest national grade in the report card’s history.
About the American Society of Civil Engineers
Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers represents more than 160,000 civil engineers worldwide and is America's oldest national engineering society. ASCE works to raise awareness of the need to maintain and modernize the nation's infrastructure using sustainable and resilient practices, advocates for increasing and optimizing investment in infrastructure, and improve engineering knowledge and competency. For more information, visit www.asce.org or www.infrastructurereportcard.org and follow us on Twitter, @ASCETweets and @ASCEGovRel.