RALEIGH, N.C. – The North Carolina Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) released the 2026 Report Card for North Carolina's Infrastructure today, assigning seven categories of infrastructure a cumulative grade of ‘C-’, demonstrating successes in several areas but still below the national grade of ‘C’ in the 2025 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure. Four of the seven categories featured in this report are graded higher than their national counterparts – aviation, drinking water, roads and stormwater. Record levels of federal investment and increased state funding mechanisms are helping infrastructure networks meet the needs of a growing population. However, existing funding gaps due to past decades of underinvestment, rising demands of aging assets accommodating more users, and increasingly frequent extreme weather events like Tropical Storms Helene and Chantal are putting strain on the state’s infrastructure network, leading to the ‘C-’ grade.
Grades for each category are below:
Grade Categories
C+ Drinking Water
C- Aviation, Bridges, Roads, Stormwater
D+ Dams, Wastewater
"North Carolina’s population is surging because of the business opportunities our state presents and the beautiful landscapes we enjoy, from the mountains to the coasts, drawing visitors from all over the country,” said Chas Webb, P.E., co-chair of the 2026 Report Card for North Carolina’s Infrastructure. “While this growth is exciting, it will only remain possible if our built environment can adequately serve residents and businesses and keep our systems running smoothly. These structures are interconnected and require comprehensive investments and innovative solutions so that the entire network can support our communities both now and in the future.”
North Carolina’s rising population is generating increased revenue from user fees but also driving more wear and tear for infrastructure assets that have already reached their intended design lifespans. Vehicle miles traveled (VMT) rose from 122 million in 2019 to 127 million in 2024; larger wastewater plants are now operating at more than half of their design capacities; and passenger volumes have nearly doubled over the last 15 years at airports like Raleigh-Durham (RDU). Each sector is working to expand capacity, address maintenance backlogs, and modernize existing assets to be more weather-resilient.
The state’s bridge (C-) network is in slightly worse condition than the national average but has improved significantly over the last decade. More than 22% of bridges were in poor condition a decade ago, yet only 8% are in poor condition now, thanks in large part to NCDOT’s annual bridge funding level rising from $150 million in FY2015 to $482 million in FY2025. Roads (C-) fare much better than the national average, with only 1.5% of non-interstate lane miles in poor condition, compared to the 37% nationwide roads in poor condition. Additionally, more than $7.2 billion has been allocated to North Carolina’s transportation networks from the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the largest federal investment in U.S. infrastructure in history. However, the state’s mountainous and coastal geography adds challenges to maintaining this network and extreme weather has damaged aging assets. For example, Tropical Storm Helene damaged or washed out more than 400 roads and parts of Interstate 40.
Drinking water (C+) systems are aging rapidly, with some pipelines dating back to the 1930s-1950s. PFAS, PFOA, and other harmful “forever chemicals” are becoming more prevalent in parts of the state, requiring utilities to adopt more advanced – and costlier – treatment processes. North Carolina benefits from having one of the lowest inventories of lead service lines in the country, protecting the health of residents from potential lead exposure. North Carolina’s wastewater (D+) networks have received a major influx of investment in recent years – more than $6 billion in state and federal resources between 2021-2023 – but needs surpass $12 billion as systems age and leaks become increasingly common. Major storms have also strained water networks. Tropical Storm Helene caused an estimated $3.69 billion in damage to 163 water and wastewater systems in 2024, exposing high vulnerability to storms and flooding.
The report includes recommendations to improve the grade:
• Investment – Increased investment is needed to meet growing demands driven by population growth and more intense storm events. Targeted funding will help ensure that drinking water and wastewater systems, transportation infrastructure such as roads and bridges, and dams can continue to operate safely and reliably under increasing stress.
• Resilience – Recent storms, such as Tropical Storm Helene and Hurricanes Matthew and Florence have demonstrated North Carolina’s resilience while highlighting the need for the state to prepare for the next major disaster, including updating emergency action plans for all departments and municipalities.
• Safety – North Carolina faces significant safety risks, with 1,463 high-hazard dams and rising vehicle fatalities per 100,000 residents over the past decade. Strengthening dam inspection programs and adopting comprehensive roadway safety strategies such as Vision Zero will be essential to reducing risks and improving public safety statewide.
• Capacity – Capacity specifically for aging water-related infrastructure is needed. Many wastewater and stormwater systems are past their design life cycle and are in need of upgrades. Repairing these systems will help to address water quality, flooding, and erosion.
• Technology – Relying on improving technologies such as green infrastructure and artificial intelligence (AI) will help to address challenges of increasing funding and improving infrastructure all while maintaining the standard quality of life.
The report card was created as a public service to inform citizens and policymakers about the infrastructure needs in North Carolina. Civil engineers use their expertise and school report card-style letter grades to condense complicated data into an easy-to-understand analysis of North Carolina’s infrastructure network. ASCE state report cards are modeled after the Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, which is released once every four years.
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.