March 19, 2015
This week the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate majorities unveiled their fiscal year 2016 (FY16) budgets. Traditionally, passing a budget in Congress is a particularly partisan endeavor with most all members in the majority voting in favor of their budget, and all the minority members voting against it. Should this Congress......
Lt Governors Talk Infrastructure Investment
March 19, 2015
Infrastructure investment was a key topic on the agenda at the The National Lieutenant Governors Association (NLGA) annual Federal-State Relations meeting this week in Washington, DC. ASCE’s Executive Director Tom Smith participated in a panel discussion with Robert Atkinson from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation to help Lt. Governors tackle this important issue. Lt.......
This Week in Infrastructure: Water Infrastructure Incurs More Attention
March 13, 2015
Amidst the visible need for highway, bridge and pothole repairs, we often forget the growing needs of our nation’s water infrastructure. According to ASCE’s Report Card, there are 240,000 water main breaks per year and trillions of gallons of water are lost each year due to “leaky pipes, broken water mains and faulty meters.” Cities throughout......
Infrastructure’s Latest Buzz Word: Resilience
March 11, 2015
Infrastructure projects that incorporate elements of resilience—the ability of a project or program to respond adaptively to threats such as storm surge or extreme weather and bounce back from disasters—are attracting new attention and challenging the engineering profession to design for a changing world. As much of our infrastructure in the U.S. reaches the end......
Action to Fix Highway Trust Fund Needed by This Summer
March 09, 2015
On Monday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its latest projections on the fiscal health of the federal Highway Trust Fund (HTF). The HTF is the main source of federal money for road, bridge and transit projects and has been facing fiscal challenges for a number of years. Last summer, Congress provided a temporary infusion......
HBO comedy program, new rail legislation bring hope for infrastructure renewal
March 06, 2015
When our nation’s infrastructure woes become the source of comedic entertainment on a major cable channel—it underscores that the problem must be addressed. Fortunately, action on Capitol Hill pressing for funding legislation and transportation reform is already underway. It is not news that our nation’s roads, bridges and transit need maintenance, but when popular television......
The Excitement of Infrastructure
March 02, 2015
Iowa’s transportation investment as funded by the state gas tax FINALLY received a 10-cent raise last week, which went into effect yesterday. The last time it had seen an increase before that? 1989. To put that in perspective: the Bachelor who has been bringing Iowa a lot of attention the past two months celebrated his......
Outstanding Civil Engineer Advocates
February 28, 2015
For the first time, ASCE is formally recognizing an individual member and a team who are dedicated to saving America’s infrastructure and promoting ASCE’s Priority Issues through building relationships with lawmakers. The Outstanding Civil Engineer Advocate of the Year Award winners, Darren Benoit and the Louisiana Section, will be recognized for their achievements at ASCE’s......
This Week in Infrastructure: Transportation Investment Has a Promising Moment
February 27, 2015
Two state report cards releases, legislation passed to raise Iowa’s state gas tax, and promising discussions on federal transportation funding, give us reasons to be optimistic about the future of our nation’s infrastructure. After a week-long recess, House Republicans Reid Ribble of Wisconsin, Tom Reed (NY) and Democrats Dan Lipinski (Ill.) and Bill Pascrell Jr.......
Utah and Iowa Poised to Tackle Transportation
February 25, 2015
On Tuesday, two ASCE Infrastructure Report Cards were released in two very different states – Iowa and Utah. Iowa’s Report Card showed one good B grade, seven mediocre Cs, and three poor Ds for the state’s infrastructure. Iowa’s roads earned a C- while bridges earned one of the lowest grades of D+. Utah’s Report Card......