Congress Weighs In on Global Road Safety
August 11, 2015
Before leaving D.C. for the Congressional August recess, members of both the House and Senate sent letters to the World Bank urging a stronger bank lending policy focused on improving global road safety. The World Bank plays a preeminent role in financing road construction in developing countries and therefore is in a unique position to have tremendous......
USDOT to Public: #ShowUsYourInfraWear
August 07, 2015
With Congress on recess and the new short-term highway patch hourglass beginning to slowly sieve, the symptoms of our nation’s aging infrastructure are gaining more attention from the media and states. Just this week, a subway train derailed in Washington, D.C., causing extreme delays for daily commuters. In response to the ubiquity of worn out......
#GameChangers Trend – Rapid Bridge Replacement
August 05, 2015
In 2013, America’s bridges earned a grade of C+. In total, one in nine of the nation’s bridges are rated as structurally deficient. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) estimates that to eliminate the nation’s bridge deficient backlog by 2028, we would need to invest $20.5 billion annually, while only $12.8 billion is being spent currently. ......
ASCE Provides Expertise at Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Academies
August 04, 2015
Each year the federal government spends billions of dollars rebuilding infrastructure following natural disasters. As we approach the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which cost the federal government $98 billion, and three-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, which cost $41 billion, federal agencies are beginning to rethink the way government responds to disaster. Prompted in part......
The House hits snooze for long-term bill until October
July 31, 2015
With July wrapping up, the House throwing in the towel and settling for another three-month extension as the Senate passing the DRIVE Act, hopes for a long-term highway funding solution are pushed back again. Before heading home for August recess the House and Senate passed another short-term patch that will provide $8 billion of funding......
Despite Senate Transportation Action, House Stymies Progress
July 30, 2015
During the last two months, the Senate made good use of its time to craft a multi-year surface transportation bill with an increase in funding. As is often the way for Congress, it still came down to the wire. For over a week, the U.S. Senate has been in a mad dash to complete its......
#GameChangers Trend – Ridesharing And Transit Apps
July 29, 2015
Traffic jams and project backlogs aren’t problems that will be going away any time soon as the Highway Trust Fund is once again headed towards insolvency. However, in spite of a lack of federal support for better transportation networks, some innovations are propelling transportation into new areas and changing the game as we know it. ......
#FixTheTrustFund: Senate Dodging Potholes
July 27, 2015
Two weeks ago, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would fund federal transportation projects through mid-December to avoid the July 31 legislative deadline. While this would divert a summer construction catastrophe, delaying Congressional agreement on a multi-year path forward is not an ideal option because short-term extensions make it difficult to plan......
July 24, 2015
With one week left until the Highway Trust Fund expires, the Senate is kicking it into high gear to agree on a long-term surface transportation bill, even when it means working weekends. ASCE supports swift passage of the bill the Senate is currently considering, which includes, at its core, ASCE’s favored legislation the DRIVE......
New Game Changers Report Identifies Top Trends Shaping Infrastructure
July 23, 2015
The challenges our infrastructure faces are chronicled frequently on this blog and in the media. The Highway Trust Fund heading toward insolvency (again). Water main breaks occurring every two minutes. Congested roadways causing us each to lose time and waste gas. But that’s only half the story. Today, we released our new Infrastructure #GameChangers report,......