The state's roads, bridges and dams are crumbling and officials need to take immediate action to improve them, according to a report by an engineering group.

The report card being issued Tuesday by state affiliates of the American Society of Civil Engineers gives an overall grade of D to Pennsylvania's infrastructure.

"We must act now, before our quality of life and the economic viability of our state are compromised," Peter Terry, director of ASCE's District 4, which includes Pennsylvania, said in a statement.

The report assesses the state's airports, bridges, dams, drinking water, waterways, rail, roads, transit and wastewater systems.

Grades ranged from a high of B for railway conditions to a low of D-minus for navigable waterways and wastewater systems.

Transportation Secretary Allen D. Biehler criticized the grades, saying the report card "focused on unmet needs without accounting for the steady progress made in recent years."

He said in a statement that the number of bridges seeing either reconstruction or preservation has jumped from 211 in 2003 to 666 last year. Biehler also noted the creation of the Transportation Funding and Reform Commission, which is slated to release recommendations later this year on public transportation and its funding.

The state earned a D for its roadways, which are some of the oldest in the country. About 27 percent are in mediocre or poor condition, compared with 18 percent nationally, according to the report.

But the study does credit the state with allotting an extra $100 million in its 2006-07 budget for highway maintenance and resurfacing.

The group gave Pennsylvania's navigable waterways a D-minus in part because only 29 percent of locks in the Pittsburgh area meet reliability standards set by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Pennsylvania's rail infrastructure is in relatively good condition and received a B, mostly because large- and medium-sized railroads in the state are able to finance their own improvements.

Last year, the engineering society gave the nation's infrastructure a D.