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A new national analysis of municipal infrastructure ranks a pair of Louisiana cities among the worst in the country at maintaining aging public assets.
Kenner and New Orleans were among the lowest-ranked cities in the U.S. for infrastructure and capital asset condition, in respective categories, depending on population, according to a new report from Merritt Research Services.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the report introduced a new metric—the infrastructure and capital asset burden—to estimate the cost of replacing worn-out public assets still in use. Across nearly 2,000 U.S. cities, the burden totals roughly $1.03 trillion.
The report notes that it is not necessarily the cost of bringing the infrastructure up to date, but it offers a snapshot of the magnitude of the repairs local governments would need to address in the coming years.
By contrast, faster growing suburban markets, such as Youngsville, tend to fare better in the analysis because their infrastructure is newer and less depreciated. Youngsville landed among the Top 10 best-positioned cities with a population of less than 50,000.
Nationally, the findings suggest many cities are operating infrastructure well beyond its intended lifespan, increasing the risk of service disruptions and costly emergency repairs. The burden—about $4,700 per capita on average—far exceeds typical municipal debt levels, signaling a growing gap between what cities owe on paper and what they will eventually have to spend.
Older cities, such as Philadelphia, Baltimore and Milwaukee, face some of the biggest potential burdens in repairing and updating their infrastructure, the study found, while growing cities in the South like Austin, Texas; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Phoenix fared among the best.
The Wall Street Journal has the full story.
