Our Failing Infrastructure

As we reported yesterday, ASCE witnesses testified before both the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committees on possible infrastructure spending for economic recovery.

ASCE President David Mongan, P.E., F.ASCE (right) testified along with Trenton, NJ Mayor Doug Palmer (left) and South Carolina Governor Mark Stanford (middle). Mongan adivised the committee on the long list of infrastructure needs across the nation and the number of jobs it would preserve and create.

Echoing Mongan’s testimony, Andrew Herrmann, P.E., F.ASCE,. SECB, spoke before the Transportation and Infrastructure committee. Herrmann’s testimony also outlined the infrastructure needs such as road projects, Army Corps of Engineers water resources projects, and about $200 million in identified needs for dam repairs.

Read both witnesses testimony on the ASCE website.

Anyone who hasn’t been living under a rock knows that lately the economy hasn’t been doing too hot. It seems like every day we hear another report of a bank failing or the stock market taking another record tumble – the need to do something is clear. While Congress and the Administration acted recently to aid troubled financial institutions, there is more to be done.

So why not create a program that will create jobs and help grow the economy for decades to come? The simple answer – invest in ready to go infrastructure projects.

We all remember from grade school history class that the United States began to recover from the Great Depression by embarking on a massive public works agenda under the New Deal – and we all still benefit from systems built all those years ago. Additionally, President Dwight Eisenhower’s national defense plans that led to the Interstate Highway System paid off in unprecedented economic growth from ease of trade and travel.

True, the current economic crises is nowhere near as dire or prolonged as the Great Depression – but let’s not forget our other problem: decaying and inadequate infrastructure in every corner of the country.

Today witnesses from ASCE will testify before the House Ways and Means Committee  and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to help shape new economic recovery legislation that invests in ready to go projects to put people back to work and start on the backlog of needed infrastructure improvements. You can read their testimony on the ASCE website. 

While our witnesses are on the Hill, we hope that ASCE members and anyone concerned about the state of the nation’s infrastructure visit our online advocacy site “Click and Connect with Congress”  to let your legislators know you support his important plan. 

Here at Our Failing Infrastructure, we like to talk about fixing and improving things, doing regular maintenance, and making sure our infrastructure is up to date. We decided to take some of our own advice and update our own infrastructure – the software that hosts this blog – to demonstrate what a difference a little upgrade can make.

Not only does the blog have a great new look, it offers useful features such as a blog-roll, easier commenting mechanisms, and multi-media content. So in the next couple of weeks, keep checking back for new and expanded content. If you have any suggestions on how to improve, we’d love to here from you! Just drop me a line at grblog@asce.org .

What won’t change, however, is the first-rate commentary on the need to improve our nation’s infrastructure. While we’ve made tremendous strides lately in calling attention to the crumbling condition of our nation’s infrastructure – we still need to be here to give policy makers the solutions they need to these problems.  So don’t worry, despite our little make-over, we’re still the same at heart!