Our Failing Infrastructure

Could you be the next infrastructure TV star? A nationwide search is underway to find a host for a new major cable network series that will focus on exposing the nation’s failing infrastructure and advocating for restoration and repair.

ASCE is sending out a casting call for potential hosts because who better to teach the public about infrastructure than civil engineers who design it, build it, and maintain it.

The show’s host will have a dogged dedication to exposing neglected infrastructure, and the fearlessness it takes to stand face-to-face with the powers-that-be and demand change.

If you have good communication skills, a wide array of engineering experiences and are committed to improving the nation’s infrastructure, this could be the opportunity for you! Previous on-camera experience is not required. All candidates must submit a bio/resume, recent headshot and candid photo(s), and a statement explaining what makes you a good candidate. Video statements are a plus.

Nominations are due no later than October 30.

For more information or to submit your nomination, send an email to castingcall@asce.org.

The Virginia Section of ASCE this week released its 2009 Report Card for Virginia’s Infrastructure. The Old Dominion’s infrastructure rated a D+ overall.

The section’s first Report Card graded 13 infrastructure categories: aviation facilities, bridges, dams, drinking water systems, energy, parks and recreation, ports and navigable waterways, rail and transit, roads, schools, solid waste disposal facilities, stormwater management and wastewater. Individual category grades ranged from a high of B- for parks and recreation, to a low of D- for each of dams, roads and schools. The report also noted that failure to maintain and preserve the state’s resources, and to implement effective long-range infrastructure management plans, is having a negative impact on Virginia’s future.

“Commuters are losing hours each day to gridlock; the pipes that carry drinking water into our homes are aging, overused and in some case, contaminated; and our children’s classrooms are becoming increasingly crowded,” said Thomas L. Fitzgerald, section president, and chair of the Report Card Committee. “Robust infrastructure is a vital component of the health of the state’s economy and its ability to attract business and industry. Even more importantly, it is also vital to supporting and protecting the health and safety of Virginians.”

The Virginia Section also noted that Dams received a low grade of D- since new state regulations enacted in 2008 nearly doubled the number of dams requiring state inspection. Despite these stricter guidelines, the state has not provided any additional funds to carry out the inspections.

To read the full report, visit ASCE Virginia’s website.

NBC 12 in Richmond also did a great piece on the Report Card and Virginia’s failing infrastructure.

The contributors on the National Journal’s Transportation Experts Blog this week are debating how transportation improvements and transformations can make communities more livable. As one of the key goals of the Obama administration, livability is sure to be a hot topic for the next few years. Already, the administration has announced a partnership between the Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development and the Envrionmental Protection Agency to start developing a game plan.

ASCE is pleased to see this shift in thinking and has long advocated for more coordination between infrastructure plans. These livability goals, however, will not be acheived overnight. ASCE’s Executive Director says on the blog that we need to start these plans, but in the short run encourage people to change some of their transportation habits by doing things such as telecommuting or working flexible schedules.

Most everyone agrees that the nation’s transportation infrastructure is in serious condition and that we have to take dramatic action to repair and improve it so we can continue to enjoy its benefits and grow as a nation. Some of the changes we need to make are structural, but many will involve changing our behavior. As we look to plan and design our transportation system of the future, community livability and sustainability will have to be priorities.

Civil engineers have long advocated for mode-neutral planning and increased intermodalism. As we plan the communities of tomorrow, we need to do a better job pairing needs with transportation plans. We also have to give people better alternatives to driving than the ones that already exist. ASCE’s 2009 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure found that only half of Americans have access to public transportation and that only about a quarter of those people consider it a “good” option.

 

To read the rest of the response and see what other contributors are saying, click here.