Infrastructure
Poor Disclosure Deepens States’ $1T Deferred-Maintenance Problem
New Volcker Alliance findings warn that gaps in state reporting conceal infrastructure needs and distort long-term planning
An aerial view shows the Washington Bridge carrying Interstate 195 over the Seekonk River between Providence and East Providence, R.I. The westbound span, closed in late 2023 for structural deterioration, is being rebuilt under a $427.9-million design-build contract awarded to Walsh Construction, as previously reported by ENR.
As federal infrastructure aid slows and grant rescissions loom, a new Volcker Alliance report warns that many state governments are failing to disclose billions of dollars in deferred-maintenance liabilities—an omission that obscures the true scope of infrastructure decay and hampers long-term planning.
The three-part series, “Meeting the Trillion-Dollar Challenge,” released Oct. 16 by the nonprofit public sector think tank, estimates the nation’s backlog of needed repairs at roughly $1 trillion, or about 4% of U.S. GDP.
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Developed with the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs and supported by the Pew Charitable Trusts, the project examines how states identify, value and report maintenance needs.
“There is no single approach to assessing or disclosing deferred maintenance across states,” said Camila Fonseca Sarmiento, director of fiscal research at the Humphrey School and lead author of the report. “Without standardized disclosure, policymakers and engineers are essentially flying blind.”
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About 30 states now reference deferred-maintenance liabilities in their capital budgets—up from 23 in 2019—leaving about 20 with no public accounting of the problem, according to the alliance, founded by former Federal Reserve Chair Paul Volcker..
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ENR’s own review of state budget documents mirrors the alliance findings when it comes to locating credible, up-to-date and verifiable figures.
State Practices Expose Deep Gaps
The report highlights sharp contrasts in disclosure and asset-management practices.
California's Dept. of General Services estimates about $8 billion in deferred maintenance across more than 12,000 state-owned facilities, reporting those figures annually to lawmakers. The state also mandates five-year capital outlay plans detailing project status and condition scores.
Oklahoma, by contrast, lists no statewide total. Each agency maintains its own asset data and deferred-maintenance figures are not consolidated in capital-budget documents.
In Massachusetts, the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance has developed a comprehensive inventory but faces a backlog exceeding $3.2 billion, mostly in higher education and public safety facilities.
These variations underscore what Noah Winn-Ritzenberg, alliance senior director of public finance, called “a patchwork of definitions and accounting practices that make it nearly impossible to compare progress across states or allocate resources efficiently.”
Buildings to Bridges, Data Gaps Widen
The disclosure problem extends well beyond public facilities. A July Pew Charitable Trusts analysis estimated that state and local governments face about $105 billion in deferred maintenance on roads and bridges alone.
Pew found that while nominal spending has increased since 1999, inflation and asset depreciation have eroded real investment. More than 30 states forecast funding shortfalls totaling $86.3 billion through 2035.
“Even when agencies have maintenance targets, inconsistent data and weak reporting make it difficult to connect funding decisions with outcomes,” Pew analysts wrote.
The transparency gap is not the sole purview of the states. At the federal level, the U.S. Government Accountability Office reported that deferred-maintenance and repair backlog for civilian agencies and the U.S. Dept. of Defense more than doubled—from $171 billion in fiscal 2017 to $370 billion in fiscal 2024—prompting the agency to add “Building Condition” to its 2025 High-Risk List.
Accurate Data Matters
When a bridge fails, quick fixes are rare. Failures that could have been prevented through routine maintenance often compound into costlier crises. The absence of consistent baseline data also hinders agencies’ ability to move from reactive repairs to strategic, proactive asset management.
“When you don’t know the condition of your assets, you can’t prioritize investments,” said Natalie Wood, policy analyst at the National Conference of State Legislatures.
The consequences are tangible: one asset-management study found that without regular upkeep, average bridge-condition ratings fell from 4.64 to 2.67 over 30 years—signaling accelerated deterioration and higher replacement costs.
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“As federal dollars ebb, states that fail to quantify their liabilities risk compounding costs later,” said William Glasgall, alliance public-finance adviser. “Deferred maintenance isn’t just a number—it’s a future service failure.”
For infrastructure planners, engineers and contractors, the alliance stressed that message reliable data and disclosure are the foundations of predictable capital planning. Without transparency reforms, it said, the $1-trillion backlog will continue to grow, jeopardizing essential public assets.
“We strongly encourage states to address this looming threat before it becomes a crisis,” Winn-Ritzenberg said.
Bryan Gottlieb is the online editor at Engineering News-Record (ENR).
Gottlieb is a five-time Society of Professional Journalists Excellence in Journalism award winner with more than a decade of experience covering business, construction and community issues, including finance, law and real estate. He has reported for Adweek and the San Diego Daily Transcript and led a community newsroom in Santa Monica, Calif. He served as editor-in-chief of the Detroit Metro Times and as managing editor at Roofing Contractor, where he helped shape national industry coverage. At Engineering News-Record, Gottlieb covers breaking news, large-scale infrastructure and megaprojects, regulatory developments and business trends across the U.S. and global construction sectors.
email: gottliebb@enr.com | office: (248) 786-1591
