north carolina infrastructure

North Carolina Report

With recent population growth and development patterns, more dams in North Carolina are designated as "high-hazard potential" and require greater investment to protect life and property.

North Carolina Infrastructure Overview

While the nation’s infrastructure earned a C in the 2025 Infrastructure Report Card, North Carolina faces infrastructure challenges of its own. For example, driving on roads in need of repair in North Carolina costs each driver $500 per year, and 9.3% of bridges are rated structurally deficient. Drinking water needs in North Carolina are an estimated $16.8 billion. 1,307 dams are considered to be high-hazard potential. The state’s schools have an estimated capital expenditure gap of $660 million. This deteriorating infrastructure impedes North Carolina’s ability to compete in an increasingly global marketplace. Success in a 21st-century economy requires serious, sustained leadership on infrastructure investment at all levels of government. Delaying these investments only escalates the cost and risks of an aging infrastructure system, an option that the country, North Carolina, and families can no longer afford.

$20 billion is needed to maintain and improve North Carolina's drinking water infrastructure over the next 20 years.

State Fact Sheet

Download Fact Sheet

Aviation

$72.7 million in 2024 airport improvement grants across 14 major airports

Drinking Water

$20.0 billion total drinking water need

Transit

51 million passenger trips across 104 systems in 2023

Bridges

19,210 bridges, 6.8% of which were structurally deficient in 2024

Hazardous Waste

47 Superfund sites

Wastewater

$12.6 billion total wastewater need

Dams

1,579 high hazard dams

Levees

59 miles of levees protect 570 residents.

Roads

37% of roads are in poor or fair condition

IIJA Grants

$0M

for the Kings Mountain Lithium Materials Processing Plant

$0M

to City of Carolina Beach for shoreline resilience

$0M

for Coastal Carolina Regional Airport in New Bern

$0K

to City of Wilson for brownfield improvements

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