Results highlight infrastructure positivity despite future funding worries

RALEIGH, N.C.: A new survey from Brightly Software, a Siemens company and the global leader in asset lifecycle management solutions, found that more than half (57%) of Americans agreed their town struggles with budget constraints, yet 55% believe their community benefited from government infrastructure bills and funding during the last four years.

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Infrastructure Report Card, which is released every four years, uses a simple A to F school report card format and examines current infrastructure conditions and needs, assigns grades and makes recommendations for how to improve in 17 categories of infrastructure. The data found that 76% of respondents believe the 2025 Report Card grade, released today, will increase or stay the same from the 2021 grade of C+.

Despite relative positivity in the condition of local and national infrastructure, the poll of over 1,000 U.S. consumers found a majority believe federal funding is critical to strengthen or repair infrastructure, but more than half (57%) don’t feel confident their community will receive federal funding and 67% aren’t sure how their community would fund improvements without federal capital.

“Recent federal infrastructure funding over the last several years have put local and national infrastructure condition at the forefront of American minds,” said Jennifer Perkins, senior government industry specialist at Brightly Software. “While consumers are relatively split on the true condition of their towns and local public schools, there’s a general sense of optimism. However, local governments and school districts will continue to face aging infrastructure and uncertain budgets that requires capital planning and considers each asset's lifecycle to maximize available funding while minimizing risk of asset failure.”

Additional insights from the study include:

• Condition Indecision: 93% said they noticed the conditions of roads and bridges in their town and 77% noticed the condition of local schools, but respondents were somewhat divided on whether the conditions improved in the last four years. Over half (55%) believed their local roads improved and 60% agreed school infrastructure improved in the last four years.
• Knowledge is Power: Americans want to take a more active role in understanding the condition of their local infrastructure. Almost 3 out of 4 respondents would rather be aware of the poor condition of government infrastructure, and 3 out of 4 respondents would prefer to know the true conditions of their local K-12 public schools.
• American Confidence: Despite budget struggles, 63% feel more confident in the condition of local infrastructure and 54% felt more confident in the state of the nation’s infrastructure compared to four years ago. With these improvements, 72% believe their state infrastructure is better or about the same as others and 66% believe that America’s infrastructure is either the same or better than other countries.
• Supporting Public Schools: While 60% of respondents agreed local public school infrastructure has improved, 58% are concerned about building conditions and almost 3 in 4 respondents agreed their local schools struggle with budget constraints.

“The 2025 ASCE Infrastructure Report Card is a critical benchmark to measure our nation’s infrastructure and its slow, steady improvement, but local, public K-12 schools need more frequent visibility into asset health at any time to accurately measure and track improvement,” said Katie Gramajo, senior education industry specialist at Brightly Software. “Future funding changes will require asset management teams across our nation’s schools to stretch funding further, and we look forward to supporting these organizations to make smarter, more efficient decisions that create better, safer environments for all.”

Brightly Software works with local governments and education institutions to enable smarter asset management. Organizations like Baltimore City Public Schools, Waco Independent School District and City of Asheville, North Carolina rely on Brightly for asset lifecycle management solutions to improve their financial and operational decisions.

Learn more about Brightly’s leading asset lifecycle management solutions.

About the Study
This survey was conducted via Dynata and polled 1,000 general U.S.-based consumers over 18 years of age in February 2024. Respondents were segmented and analyzed across age groups, gender, marital status, having children and household income. For complete survey methodology, please email Brightly@pancomm.com.

About Brightly Software
Brightly Software, a Siemens company, enables organizations to manage the entire lifecycle of their assets, facilities and infrastructure. As the global leader in intelligent asset management solutions for more than 25 years, Brightly’s sophisticated cloud-based platform is expertly designed to improve capital planning through smarter, data-driven decision making, empower technicians to predict, prioritize and manage preventative maintenance activities, and support organizations to achieve sustainability, compliance and efficiency goals. Combined with award-winning training, legendary support and managed services, more than 12,000 clients worldwide depend on Brightly to optimize their teams, operations and strategic planning initiatives. For more information, visit brightlysoftware.com.

Fonte: Business Wire