Tennessee will need at least $54.8 billion in public infrastructure improvements, a 9.7 percent increase in funding, from July 2018 through June 2023, according to a report by the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR).
Infrastructure projects are categorized as transportation and utilities, needing $29.6 billion; education, $14.2 billion; health, safety, and welfare, $7.6 billion; recreation and culture, $2.1 billion; general government, $894 million; and economic development, $300 million.
Transportation and utilities projects increased by more than $3.7 billion compared to last year, the fourth consecutive year of growth.
Education increased by $575 million, the majority of which is improvements to institutions of higher education.
Health, safety, and welfare increased $208 million; recreation and culture grew $206 million; and general government spiked $195 million.
Only economic development had costs drop, falling $65 million.
TACIR found that 67 percent of the funds needed to complete these projects were not available at the time the study was conducted.
Funding information about existing school improvements and project drawn from capital budget requests submitted by state agencies were not available for evaluation.
The report includes a one-page summary for each county that lists the estimated cost of projects by stage of development, and the top three infrastructure improvements based on estimated cost.