The United States received a D+ rating this week from the American Society of Civil Engineers, for the condition of its road and bridges. The report card says there are $3.6 million dollars worth of investments that needed by 2020 in order for the country to meet standards.

In that same report, Louisiana received a C-. With the recent bridge collapse in Washington state in mind, where does Lafayette stand? Director of Public Works, Tom Carroll, says "The report card is not good. We've got an aging infrastructure that is falling apart, and inadequate funds to maintain it and upgrade it the way it needs to be maintained."

Bridges in the parish that are 40 to 50 years old have to be shut down. "We're not going to jeopardize public safety just to keep it open and keep it convenient," says Carroll. "The only way to get away from that is to repair what we have. It's great to build new roads and new bridges that are not there right now, but we have to maintain our infrastructure."

Akeam@katctv.com

 

 


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