By Tony LaColla, AICP

The signs of aging infrasturcture are glaring in the aftermath of several national large scale infrasturcture failures over the past few years.  A bridge collapse, a steampipe explosion, failing levees, and regional blackouts/brownouts; have made it clear that large parts of our infrastructure systems have exceeded their expected lifetime.  Even here in Hillsborough County aging infrastructure has led to sewer and water pipe breaks, a failing road system, stormwater drainage issues, and inadequate school buildings.  Infrastructure isn't a sexy topic but it is an area that demands attention before our economy begins to feel the effects of its decay. 

The American Society of Civil Engineers, which represents more than 139,000 civil engineers worldwide, concluded in 2005 that it would cost $1.6-trillion over five years to upgrade the nation's infrastructure.   Just looking at the strain on Florida’s infrastructure can be frightening.  

•  34% of Florida's major urban roads are congested. While our population grew 32% between 1990 and 2003 vehicle travel on Florida's highways increased 69%.  Today congestion in the Tampa area costs commuters $742 per person per year in excess fuel and lost time.
• 18% of Florida's bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete.
• Florida loses 364 million gallons of drinking water a day due to leaking pipes.  Florida's drinking water infrastructure needs $3.7 billion over the next 20 years.
• Florida has $9.96 billion in wastewater infrastructure needs to keep up with the growing population and replace antiquated technologies.
• 57% of Florida's schools have at least one inadequate building feature.  80% of Florida's schools have at least one unsatisfactory environmental condition.

In Hillsborough County, the need for infrastructure repair is urgent.  Roads which should be repaved every 10-20 years have gone 20 to 40 years without improvments in some cases.  Many roads are filled with potholes or major cracks, decades old water pipes are crumbling, causing depressions and sinkholes that can swallow cars whole.  Transformers are blowing up even in the slightest windstorm; bridges are carrying loads and capacities much larger than designed; water pipes are leaking.

In an effort  to ease flooding brought on by new development, Hillsborough County created a master plan of 168 drainage projects at a cost of nearly $400-million. The county is spending about $5-million a year on the plan. At this pace, it will take 80 years to complete all of the projects.  Last year money was shifted from drainage projects, to roadway projects to accommodate even more cars and sprawl.

The city of Tampa sewer system began failing a few years ago. In 2003, a corroded pipe burst on Davis Islands, dumping 2-million gallons of water from toilets and sinks into a channel that feeds into Hillsborough Bay.  In 2004, a sewer pipe burst in the Sulphur Springs neighborhood sending 2 million gallons of raw sewage into yards and draining toward the Hillsborough River.  The city’s potable water pipes do not fare much better.  Tampa, alone lost nearly 4 billion gallons of water last year due to leaky pipes.  About 15 percent of the city's 2,300 miles of pipe is more than 60 years old.

Keeping up with an aging infrastructure system is challenging especially when new development is putting more pressure on a system with a greater influx of users causing spills or floods, increased traffic, and additional strain on the power grid and water system.   Building new roads to serve new suburban development doesn’t help the already over-crowded under-served roads around the urban core that these new developments impact.  Building new homes in undeveloped areas rather than in areas already served by underutilized infrastructure leads to inefficient use of infrastructure.

Tax or Not to Tax

The $30 billion a year federal and state governments spend on highway, bridge and tunnel maintenance will take 50 years to fix the $1.6 trillion in needed infrastructure repairs. That's an enormous amount of money and a very long time to wait.  Our systems will continue to decline unless the public and leaders understand the impact failing infrastructure.  Though the thought of increasing taxes is not appealing, public safety and a vibrant economy are at stake.

One thing is clear.  Maintenance of critical infrastructure is the responsibility of government.  Choices need to be made.  Pay now or pay much more later.  

Infrastructure will not fix itself and funding is needed now.  In order to maintain our quality of life and ensure we have infrasturcture that is safe and provides for economic propsperity, government must spend money.  The question remains, how do our governments fund large scale infrastructure repairs, especially in a time of the public’s demand for cutting taxes? 

Bridging the Financial Gap

Even before the current budget crunch mandated by state government, local jurisdictions in Hillsborugh County were developing alternative sources of funding for infrastructure upgrades and repair.   Higher impact fees, higher user fees, community development districts, congestion pricing, and privately managed toll roads are some of the mechanisims currently in use or being examined to meet the needs of this rapidly growing area.  And with the recent property tax cut mandate the need for alternative sources of funding for infrastructure projects is more important than ever.  Still, with increased revenues to pay for improvements, it is expected to take decades to fix problems that currently exist in the areas road, water, sewage, and stormwater systems.

The state and federal government have some catching up to do with local governments.  Billions of dollars are spent on special interest projects, while existing needs go unmet.  Both the state and federal governments will need to look at alternative sources of funding which could include higher taxes, higher user fees, cuts in subsidies, and use of new technologies.   

What lesson can we learn from all this?  It is more important than ever to focus on sustainable growth.  As we rebuild and reinvest in our critical infrastructure, we need to insist that our elected officials make decisions that will support a more sustainable future.  Investments in transportation alternatives will extend the life of our roadways.  Supportive transit oriented development in walkable, bikeable communities will allow infrastructure investment to be more concentrated.  Infill and higher density development inside the urban service boundary and urban core where infrastructure already exists will decrease the cost of infrastructure per household, reducing the overall tax burden.  Not only would our roads, bridges, and pipes have a longer life span, but also, our communities would benefit.