THE WISH LIST
Tennessee infrastructure needs, July 2015-June 2020Transportation and utilities: $24.8 billionEducation: $9.6 billionHealth and social welfare: $6.2 billionRecreation and culture: $1.8 billionGeneral government: $722 millionEconomic devopment: $417 millionTotal: $43.4 billionSource: TACIR
It’s the mother of all wish lists – the schools, roads, fire halls and parks local and state officials across Tennessee would build if they just had the money.
The annual infrastructure survey released last week by a state policy think tank, the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR), comes to $43 billion. The list includes more than $2 billion in Hamilton County needs for schools, roads, safety and recreation projects and sewer lines, the bones upon which homes, businesses and communities are built.
“Wish” is the operative word. Projects local school districts, governments and others put on the rolling, five-year list – this edition covers 2015-2020 – can bounce around for years, move ahead or back or drop off altogether. But as a way for communities to decide what they need to prosper and grow, and in what order, it’s a helpful tool, local leaders say.
“You get the whole huge ball of wax in one report,” said Bradley County Mayor Gary Davis. “It does give you something to refer back to when you have something to do and you know what the next biggest need is.”