Kansas and Missouri earned middling grades from experts who assessed the infrastructures of both states.
Kansas got a ‘C-minus, so did the state of Missouri.
“Is a C-minus good enough?’ asked one of the contributors to the report, Tom Jacobs, one of the reports co-chairs.
The reports were prepared by the Kansas, Kansas City and St. Louis sections of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
A panel of engineers looked at a wide range of infrastructure components in assessing the states.
It ranged from the conditions of roads, bridges and dams to the quality of schools.
Missouri got grades of ‘C’ for its aviation, railroads and schools. That was the highest grade the state received.
It got a ‘D-minus’ grade for its dams and a ‘D-plus’ grade for Missouri’s energy industry.
Kansas scored highest with ‘C-plus’ grades for its schools and roads.
Both states are struggling with money because of the recession. The authors expressed frustration with politicians at every level.
Another contributor, Larry Freevert, however, reserved his harshest comments for member of Congress..
He said Washington politicians are too consumed with what he called, ‘the crisis de jour’”.
“They’re looking at things like immigration, gun control, Social Security. Those are pressing on their plates right now. And infrastructure gets pushed back,” said Freevert.
The lowest grades came in the rating for both states dams and bridges.
Kansas earned a ‘D-minus’ grade for its dams.
Kansas’ 6,087 dams is second only to Texas. The state has 230 on the “high hazard” list. That means if one of those fails, it could result in killing someone or damaging property.
More than 3,000 Kansas bridges are on the structurally deficient list.
One of the authors, Alex Darby, noted Kansas has recently de-regulated some dams from inspection.
“That isn’t the solution, de-regulating them,” Darby said.
Missouri’s dams also earned a ‘D-minus’ grade. The report says Missouri could use more regulation of its dams, especially the ones on farms that may have been forgotten.
Missouri got its highest grades for is schools and roads.
The state of Missouri’s roads was a major topic for the just-finished session of the state legislature.
An effort to devoted 1-cent of the state sales tax for roads failed in the final days.
Missouri continues to talk about the future of I-70 that stretches from Kansas City to St. Louis.
Missouri’s money problem with roads, according to the report, is complicated by its low fuel tax. That tax is the state’s main source of highway money. That problem is complicated by cars getting better fuel mileage and more conservative driving practices by drivers.