Star Staff Reports
NASHVILLE — Tennessee needs at least $62.9 billion of public infrastructure improvements during the five-year period of July 2021 through June 2026, according to a new report released by the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR). Public infrastructure improvements for Shelby County total $5.9 billion, a decrease of $515.6 million (8.0%) since last year’s report.
The current report, which is based on information provided by state and local officials, shows an increase of $1.2 billion in the entire state’s infrastructure needs (2.0%) from the January 2022 report.
Statewide, the top three areas of need are
• Transportation at $34.7 billion,
• Post-secondary education at $5.6 billion, and
• School renovations at $5.5 billion.
Officials report that Shelby County’s top three areas of need are
• Transportation at $3.2 billion,
• Post-secondary education at $785.6 million, and
• Water and wastewater at $586.1 million.
The county’s total estimated cost for new or improved infrastructure is $6,429 per capita, compared with $9,012 statewide per capita. Shelby County’s estimated Transportation needs per capita amount to $3,488, lower than the $4,979 per capita reported statewide. Shelby County reported Post-secondary education infrastructure needs of $850 per capita, higher than the statewide average of $798 per capita. As for Water and wastewater infrastructure needs, Shelby County reported $634 per capita, which is lower than the statewide average of $750 per capita.
Less than a third of the money needed to meet Tennessee’s public infrastructure needs has been identified. Statewide, officials are confident that $15.4 billion (32.4%) will be available for the $47.6 billion in needs for which funding information is collected in this year’s report. About $1.8 billion (40.4%) of the $4.3 billion total funding needed to meet Shelby County’s infrastructure needs has been identified. Funding information for needed improvements at existing schools and for needs reported in state agencies’ capital budget requests is not collected in the inventory.
Among Tennessee’s 95 counties, Shelby County ranked
• 1st in total population (924,454),
• 13th in population change between 2000 and 2021 (26,267),
• 76th in population growth rate since 2000 (2.9%),
• 2nd in population density at 1,225 people per square mile,
• 2nd in total estimated infrastructure needs ($5.9 billion),
• 55th in total estimated infrastructure needs per capita ($6,429), and
• 37th in total public-school needs per student ($4,714).
This report is the only source of statewide information on the condition of public-school buildings and the cost to put them all in good or better condition. According to local school officials, 89.8% of local public schools statewide are now in good or excellent condition. However, they estimate the cost to put the remaining 10.2% in good or better condition and keep the others in good or excellent condition is $5.2 billion, which is a $230 million increase from the cost reported in the previous inventory.
Officials in Shelby County rated 25.6% of their school buildings as less than good overall. Local officials estimate the cost to upgrade or maintain existing schools to good or better condition is $362.9 million for the Shelby County school system, $9.8 million for the Arlington school system, $24.4 million for the Bartlett school system, $22.0 million for the Collierville school system, $23.7 million for the Germantown school system, $39.0 million. The cost to bring all Tennessee public school buildings up to at least good condition is $5,429 per student statewide, compared with $3,725 per student in Shelby County.
This year’s report, like last year’s, includes a statewide overview chapter that provides information by type of infrastructure, the condition and needs of our public-school facilities, the availability of funding to meet reported needs, and a comparison of county-area needs. Following that section, one-page summaries for each county-area list the estimated cost for all types of infrastructure by stage of development. The summaries also highlight the top three types of infrastructure improvements needed in each county based on total estimated cost and compare the infrastructure needed at public school systems to student enrollment. Further detailed county-area information about each type of infrastructure in the inventory, along with relevant legislation, inventory forms, and a glossary of terms, can be found in the appendixes to the report.
The full report can be found on TACIR’s web site at https://www.tn.gov/tacir/infrastructure/infrastructure-reports-/building-tennessee-s-tomorrow-2021-2026.html
