Tennessee’s Estimated Infrastructure Costs Balloon to $58 Billion

 

The state’s necessary costs for infrastructure have ballooned to $58 billion for projects from 2019 to 2024. The Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR) issued the annual report on Monday. TACIR noted that the $3.8 billion difference from last year’s report marked a nearly 7 percent increase.

According to TACIR, the bulk of the increase – nearly $3 billion – came from transportation and utility needs, mainly for new road and sidewalk projects. Needs of the “general government” accounted for a majority of the remainder at $608 million.

The other increases were $113 million for recreation and culture, and $86 million for health, safety, and welfare. TACIR noted an overall decrease of $56 million: specifically, $42 million in education and $14 million in economic development.

TACIR spokespersons informed The Tennessee Star that these increases in cost are caused by a multiplicity of variables, including population growth.

“The good news is that when the population is growing, our ability to fund public infrastructure also increases. The estimated cost of infrastructure needs has increased over the years mainly because of the rising cost of construction materials and labor,” stated TACIR spokespersons. “For example, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ New School Construction Price Index rose almost 40 points (30.5 percent) from July 2010 to July 2019. Although rising costs are certainly a concern, and should be monitored, there is no cause for alarm.”

The spokespersons noted that TACIR wasn’t designed to propose cost control measures, but to inventory the infrastructure needs across the state.

As reported by The Tennessee Star on last year’s report, TACIR noted that the estimated costs at the time had increased by nearly 10 percent. The bulk of the increase at that time was also attributable to transportation and utility needs, coming in at over $3.7 billion – around $7 million more than this year’s estimations. However, the second-largest increase came from education infrastructure.

The full TACIR report for this year also includes estimated infrastructure costs specific to each county, with emphasis on the top three most needed improvements, and comparisons of public school system infrastructure needs to student enrollment.

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Corinne Murdock is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and the Star News Network. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to [email protected].