JUNEAU, AK — The Alaska Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) releases the 2025 Report Card for Alaska’s Infrastructure, assigning 13 categories of infrastructure a cumulative grade of C, which is one step above the national average of C- from the 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure. This grade is also a one-step increase from the 2021 Report Card for Alaska’s Infrastructure. The report looks at how Alaska’s infrastructure has fared since the last report card and the unique challenges infrastructure systems face in Alaska’s largest cities and smallest communities.
Three of the 13 categories (bridges, dams, and ports) saw grade increases, while three categories (aviation, energy, and transit) saw grade decreases. The report card also includes one new chapter on public parks.
Alaska’s bridges received the highest grade on the report card, with a B+, a two-step increase over the 2021 report card. Over the last four years, the percentage of bridges in poor conditions dropped from 7 percent to 6.4 percent, and the number of bridges with weight restrictions also fell. Alaska’s bridge inventory is one of the most modern in the country, with an average bridge age of 37 years. The state has invested heavily in a bridge management plan, prioritizing maintenance projects to ensure bridges that connect communities remain reliable.
Roads in Alaska received a C grade, the same as the last report card. Only 6,188 of the state’s 17,637 miles of road are paved, and while Alaska is the largest state in the nation in square miles, it has the fifth lowest number of road miles. Less than 1 percent of roads on the national highway system are in poor condition, and the state’s transportation asset management plan focuses on preventing roads with fair pavement quality from falling into the poor category. The remote nature of Alaska’s roads makes maintaining the state’s roads expensive. It costs $27,572 to maintain a mile of road in the state, compared to the national average of $14,546.
Alaska’s aviation grade dropped one level to a C- in the 2025 report card. Harsh weather conditions mean many airports have a limited time in the summer when construction crews can complete necessary improvements to tackle Alaska’s $4 billion in airport infrastructure needs. Nearly 200 airports do not have weather stations, which are a crucial source of information for pilots to take off and land safely.
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The state’s marine highway system’s D grade is the same as in 2021. The system has an aging fleet of vessels and must pay for growing maintenance while dealing with budget cutbacks.
Alaska’s ports saw a one-step grade improvement to C- in the 2025 report card. The Don Young Port of Alaska in Anchorage, which handles 75 percent of the state’s inbound cargo, is undergoing a $2 billion modernization program to improve its resiliency and safety and to accommodate modern shipping operations. Alaska’s ports also help support the cruise industry, which brought 1.65 million visitors to Alaska in 2024.
Alaska’s drinking water systems received a D+ grade. The state has $4.5 billion in water infrastructure needs over the next 20 years. Thirty-two rural communities in Alaska do not have in-home piped water or a community watering point, and people must haul water to homes and businesses. Communities with drinking water systems must build them to handle Alaska’s harsh winter conditions, which means pipes are buried several feet underground so they aren’t damaged by the freeze-thaw cycle, and above-ground pipes need insulation and circulation systems to prevent water from freezing. These necessary precautions increase construction and operation costs, complicating repairs to leaking or broken pipes.
