Tag Term: infrastructure

Keep the President’s Message about Infrastructure Alive

Jan 26 2012

During this week’s broadcast of the State of the Union address, the President spoke before a Joint session of Congress and talked about infrastructure. Although ASCE’s 2009 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure was not referenced (as it was in last year’s address), you can use his speech as a conversation starter to begin a dialogue…

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Case studies in revolutionary sustainable solutions

Oct 23 2011

A later session explored additional case studies in revolutionary sustainable solutions. Projects need not be massive to be influential. David Clarke, project manager with RW Armstrong & Associates, Inc., described his work to implement sustainable means of controlling water run-off at elementary schools. They utilized rain gardens to provide an effective and naturally beautiful solution….

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Audi’s Take on American Roads

Sep 26 2011

Have you seen the new Audi ad?  Check out what the folks at Foreign Policy’s Passport blog had to say about it.  (And if you haven’t seen it, you can view a clip here as well.) My take on the new Audi commercial was slightly different – “Yes, let’s spend even more money on avoiding…

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Become an Infrastructure Advocate – Share the “Failure to Act” Report Locally

Aug 12 2011

Last week’s blog discussed the value of putting ASCE’s “Failure to Act” economic report in a local context. The report is a great opportunity to get the message out at the state, regional and community level about the value of investing in transportation infrastructure. The report clearly shows that we are at a fork in…

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Infrastructure needs a cheering section

Jul 14 2011

Paul Levy, former director of the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority (MWRA), contributed an excellent article in Commonwealth Magazine (Summer 2011).  The article:  “Down the Drain:  Infrastructure Needs a Cheering Section”, discusses issues related to infrastructure maintenance (and lack of maintenance).  This is a timely, well-written article that frames the difficult debate on how it’s always…

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Surface Transportation Reinvestment – We Need Your Local Voice

Jun 28 2011

Presidents Roosevelt and Eisenhower envisioned a national highway system that would connect our nation and spur growth, prosperity and security. But even they could not have foreseen how significantly this system would transform our nation, or that our growth, prosperity and security would one day become dependent on how well the system functions. This week,…

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Key Senators Unveil Surface Transportation Principles

May 26 2011

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is inching closer to releasing a surface transportation authorization bill, which it hopes to mark up by the Fourth of July. This week the big four of the Environment and Public Works Committee, Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), James Inhofe (R-OK), Max Baucus (D-MT), and David Vitter (R-LA) released…

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The Snowpocalypse

Feb 11 2011

Last week Chicago suffered its greatest snowstorm since 1967.  High winds and thunder snow (no kidding) made the event seem apocalyptic.  The two day accumulation total was over 20”! At the height of the storm, my wife went into labor with our first child.  Fortunately, we had taken the precaution of getting a hotel room…

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Obama cites ASCE Report Card, calls for Infrastructure Improvement

Jan 25 2011

The state of the nation’s infrastructure took center stage tonight during the President’s State of the Union address. Among the proposals President Obama put forward for creating jobs and growing the economy is improving the nation’s infrastructure. President Obama wants to “win the future” and we can’t do it with a failing infrastructure. Citing the…

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Amendment to Block Trust Fund Diversions Fails

Jan 06 2011

After a mighty effort by members of ASCE and other transportation and infrastructure organizations, Republicans this week voted to remove guarantees that gas tax revenue be used solely to fund surface transportation projects and that yearly appropriations do not have to be at their authorized levels. While this is is certainly a blow to transportation advocates, it is still…

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