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About 40 per cent of highways and roads in rough shape

Oct. 15, 2019 – The latest ‘report card’ on Canada’s roads is out, detailing just how bad the infrastructure deficit is in Canada.

The 2019 Canadian Infrastructure Report Card, a joint project of eight associations, was released this week. It compiles asset condition and longevity across seven categories of infrastructure. It found in publicly owned (but non-municipal) assets, that 39 per cent of roads and 38.7 per cent of bridges/tunnels are in “very poor” to “fair” condition. Fair condition means the asset is deteriorating and requires attention.

The collector and arterial roads owned by governments other than municipalities are in worse shape than highways.

Similarly, 40 per cent of municipal roads were in fair or worse condition; 30 per cent of watermains and sewers were in fair or worse condition.

The overall ratings of infrastructure assets in both the roads and the bridges categories have deteriorated since the last report was issued in 2016.

The report card does not break out data by municipality or region.

The national overview is good to know, because Canadians need to make infrastructure investment a priority, MHCA president Chris Lorenc said.

“But what we need now – and what the MHCA is pursuing – is the view at the local level, because that’s where policy and advocacy can really make a difference,” Lorenc noted. “These infrastructure assets are critical to moving people to work and school, and getting products on the road to Canadian or global trade markets.”