Coast Guard Faces $7 Billion Backlog in Shore Infrastructure Projects

The U.S. Coast Guard requires more than $7 billion to address its deteriorating shore infrastructure, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released on March 5, 2025. The report indicates that the backlog of infrastructure projects has significantly increased since 2019, when the backlog stood at $2.6 billion. Approximately 45% of Coast Guard facilities, including piers, runways, and housing units, were already past their expected service life at that time. The escalating costs are attributed to insufficient budget allocations over recent fiscal years, which have consistently fallen short of the Coast Guard’s identified funding targets for maintaining its infrastructure.

The Coast Guard manages nearly 40,000 shore infrastructure assets valued at $24.5 billion, which include boat stations, buildings, utility systems, training facilities, and housing. Between fiscal years 2019 and 2025, budget requests for shore infrastructure varied from $255 million to $415 million annually. These amounts were consistently below the Coast Guard’s projected needs, which increased from $439 million in 2019 to $709 million in 2025. As a result, the maintenance backlog has expanded, creating additional challenges for Coast Guard operations.

The GAO’s 2019 report included six recommendations to improve the management of Coast Guard infrastructure. As of early 2025, the Coast Guard has fully addressed two recommendations and made progress on three others. Actions taken include a systematic assessment of infrastructure conditions and improved prioritization of projects. However, the Coast Guard has not fully implemented key tools, such as predictive models for investment outcomes and analyses for resource allocation decisions. One recommendation remains unaddressed: the need for the Coast Guard to provide detailed analyses of competing project alternatives and report trade-offs in congressional budget requests. Coast Guard officials are considering publishing annual reports to enhance transparency.

The GAO emphasized that fully implementing its recommendations could help the Coast Guard manage its resources more efficiently, reduce costs, and provide Congress with better information to address infrastructure challenges. The report suggests that improving tools for analyzing trade-offs and resource decisions could play a crucial role in addressing the growing maintenance backlog. Coast Guard officials continue to evaluate strategies to meet the infrastructure needs of their extensive network of facilities, which are vital to supporting national security and public safety missions.

Article by multiple RFHC contributors.

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