TACIR approves five‑year public infrastructure needs inventory showing $78 billion statewide shortfall

The Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations approved its annual public infrastructure needs inventory, which reports an estimated $78,000,000,000 in state and local infrastructure needs for the five‑year period beginning July 2023.

Tyler Carpenter, Research Manager, presented the inventory and highlighted key findings: total estimated cost per capita of needed public infrastructure rose for the ninth consecutive year; transportation and utilities and education accounted for the largest increases; and transportation remains the single largest category at approximately $38,000,000,000. Carpenter said state and local officials reported a $10,000,000,000 increase in total need compared with the prior inventory.

Education needs were reported at about $19,000,000,000, with K‑12 renovations up $895,000,000 (16%), concentrated in Davidson, Wilson and Rutherford counties. Postsecondary increases totaled roughly $737,000,000 (11%), with half of that rise tied to the University of Memphis and Tennessee State University, Carpenter said.

Carpenter also noted that the percentage of reported needs that are funded rose by 1 percentage point from the prior inventory, and he directed commissioners to county summaries and appendices for project‑level and school district detail.

Commissioners asked whether funds from the Road Modernization Act were reflected. Carpenter replied that any funding enacted and reported as projects in planning, design or construction as of July 2023 would be included and that projects shown as funded in the inventory reflect available funding at the time of data collection. The commission approved the inventory by voice vote.

The approved inventory will be available in TACIR materials and includes county breakdowns and appendices for officials seeking local detail.