June 18, 2015
Just over a year ago President Obama signed the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 (WRRDA) into law. It was the first major water resources bill Congress passed in nearly seven years. Historically, major water resources bills were signed on a two year cycle, but partisanship and a ban on congressional earmarks made......
Final Inning for Highway Trust Fund Fix
June 05, 2015
With Congress back in session, the countdown for a long-term sustainable solution to fund transportation infrastructure is back on. At this point, lawmakers are in agreement that our infrastructure needs serious attention, yet Congress is in gridlock on finding a long-term solution. Underinvestment in infrastructure does not only lead to a growing backlog of maintenance,......
June 04, 2015
Last week the Obama Administration released a final rule setting new bounds on the reach of federal water jurisdiction. The “Waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) rule is more than 20 years in the making. Uncertainty stemming from three Supreme Court decisions left the two primary agencies responsible for implementing the rule—the Environmental Protection Agency and......
Adapting Infrastructure to a Changing Climate
June 02, 2015
Every week this blog, Save America’s Infrastructure highlights the well-documented deterioration of our country’s once world-class infrastructure. It’s been our position for a while that the primary threat to America’s infrastructure is a shortfall in investment. However last week ASCE published a new paper highlighting an emerging critical stressor engineers aren’t yet prepared to address:......
May 29, 2015
Extreme storms in Texas and Oklahoma are testing the strength of many dams this week. Our thoughts are with those affected, and it is hoped that there are no dam failures contributing to the challenges these communities face. Such failures have had dire effects; it was this same week back in 1889 when the worst......
Win One (Gas Tax) for the Gipper
May 27, 2015
Summer reading lists of those in Washington, D.C. policy circles tend not to reflect titles that rank highly on the New York Times bestseller list. Case and point is a new work by Eno Center for Transportation senior fellow Jeff Davis, titled “Reagan Devolution: The Real Story of the 1982 Gas Tax Increase.” In the......
Trust Fund Patches Won’t Patch Potholes
May 22, 2015
Just in time for the start of summer travel and construction season, the Highway Trust Fund received yet another short-term extension this week. Congress has “punted” once again on passing a long-term highway and transit funding solution until July 31, 2015. This short-term patch is just the latest of temporary solution over the past six......
Congress Punts on Highway & Transit Improvements
May 21, 2015
To use a common football analogy, this week Congress decided to “punt” on finding a long-term highway and transit funding solution and reauthorizing federal surface transportation programs. In football, the purpose of punting is for a team to be in a better strategic position following a failed offensive effort. Congress might need to be reminded of this because......
Infrastructure Needs Crescendo
May 15, 2015
With major delays on the DC metro during rush hour, two train derailments, and Arizona’s state report card release, 15 days until the Highway Trust Fund expires, Infrastructure Week highlighted the importance of investing in infrastructure through and a week of planned infrastructure awareness events and the unforeseen infrastructure problems. echo the pleas for a......
Arizona’s Growth Makes Infrastructure a Smart Investment
May 14, 2015
Arizona has been growing, and it’s going to keep growing. Today the state has about 6.6 million people, but Arizona’s population by 2035 could be as high as 10.5 million people which is a lot more people who will be using the water infrastructure and traveling on the same roads. With such explosive growth, comes......
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