Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) President Greg Principato and ACI-NA Chairman David N. Edwards, Jr. today issued the following statements in response to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure. Updated once every four years, this year’s Report Card found that America’s overall grade for infrastructure is a D+ and under the Transportation category, Aviation again earned a D grade.
“It is unfortunate that aviation has again received a failing grade,” said ACI-NA Chairman David N. Edwards, Jr. “This report underscores the need for significant changes in the way that airport infrastructure is funded to accelerate efforts to modernize aging infrastructure and improve the nation’s air traffic control system with NextGen. Both are needed to position U.S. airports to better compete in a global marketplace.”
“On behalf of U.S. airports, I applaud ASCE for conducting such a comprehensive assessment of the nation’s infrastructure,” said ACI-NA President Greg Principato. “The report clearly shows that we can no longer rely on the status quo funding system and the time is now to increase or eliminate the cap on the Passenger Facilities Charge (PFC). ACI-NA has long advocated for policies that provide flexible, adequate funding sources for infrastructure improvements needed to ensure the safety and security of air travelers as well as to modernize infrastructure in order to build a competitive future for a competitive nation,” Principato concluded.
An Advisory Council of leading civil engineers appointed by ASCE assigns the grades according to the following eight criteria: capacity, condition, funding, future need, operation and maintenance, public safety, resilience, and innovation.
To view the 2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, visit www.infrastructurereportcard.org.
