GAO: USCG’s Shore Maintenance Infrastructure Backlog Has Ballooned to $7B
USCG cutter dockedGAO reports on the balloning maintenace requires for USCG's shoreside infrastructure (USCG file photo)
Published Mar 6, 2025 4:35 PM by The Maritime Executive
Failure by the U.S. Coast Guard to invest in maintaining and renewing its crumpling shore infrastructure and a lack of funding from the U.S. Congress has resulted in a significant increase in the amount required to carry out the work. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is again shining the spotlight on the agency’s mounting challenges, estimating that the USCG now requires $7 billion to rebuild its deteriorating shore infrastructures, more than double the amount required in 2019.
GOA carried out a detailed assessment in 2019 of the Coast Guard’s shore infrastructures and made recommendations to manage the growing challenges. Based on USCG assessments, GAO determined that about 50 percent of the facilities were past their expected service life. The agency needed $2.6 billion to revamp the facilities comprising assets like piers, runways, and buildings. USCG it reports has about 40,000 shore infrastructure assets with a value of $24.5 billion.
Six years later GAO finds little has been achieved and the agency is now grappling with an infrastructure maintenance backlog amounting to $7 billion. The Coast Guard admitted in a 2023 report that the condition of most of the facilities ranged from “mediocre to fair” and were contributing to the worsening operational challenges.
https://maritime-executive.com/article/gao-uscg-s-shore-maintenance-infrastructure-backlog-has-ballooned-to-7b
