Building a Culture of Preparedness at FEMA
March 30, 2018
Last week, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) released a new strategic plan to guide the agency from 2018 through 2022. The plan outlines three goals: reducing the complexity of the agency, readying the nation for catastrophic disaster, and building a culture of preparedness. The strategic goals will be driven by twelve supporting strategic objectives......
Idaho’s Infrastructure Stalls at a C-
March 08, 2018
Civil engineers in Idaho released the 2018 Report Card for Idaho’s Infrastructure today, giving the state an overall grade of a “C-.” Idaho is now the fastest growing state in the country, and local and state leaders are being encouraged by ASCE members to proactively prepare the state’s infrastructure for a much larger population. Seven......
ASCE Gives Michigan Infrastructure a D+
March 06, 2018
The 2018 Report Card for Michigan’s Infrastructure, released today, gave the state an overall grade of a “D+.” Much of the state’s infrastructure is reaching the end of its useful life and continues to threaten the state’s lakes, rivers, drinking water, and public health and safety. 13 categories of infrastructure were assessed by a group......
Infrastructure Requires Attention in the Land of Lincoln
February 23, 2018
The 2018 Report Card for Illinois’ Infrastructure, released today, gave the state an overall grade of a “C-.” 10 categories of infrastructure were assessed by a group of nearly 30 civil engineers from around the state. Illinois’ overall GPA remained unchanged from the 2014 Report Card for Illinois’ Infrastructure, an indication that the state has......
President Trump Releases Much Anticipated Infrastructure Plan
February 12, 2018
The Trump Administration has officially released an infrastructure proposal calling for $1.5 trillion in infrastructure investments, with $200 billion of direct federal spending over the course of 10 years. The federal investment is meant to spur investments from state and local governments and private investors. The proposal is divided into four main parts: funding and......
Potholes: On the Street and in the News
January 26, 2018
Despite ringing in the New Year with a bomb cyclone, this January has been unusually warm across the country. We don’t need to turn to our Weather App to know that spring will be here before we know it. Instead, we can turn to the roads, where potholes are making their yearly pre-spring appearance thanks......
U.S. Chamber: An Infrastructure Bill with a User Fee Increase is Our 2018 Priority
January 19, 2018
On January 18, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce hosted business leaders, policymakers, association presidents, investors and workforce leaders for the “America’s Infrastructure Summit: Time to Modernize.” In conjunction with the Summit, the U.S. Chamber released a set of recommendations for policymakers to consider as they begin developing a comprehensive infrastructure package. These recommendations included the......
3M Meeting Focuses Washington on AV Preparation
September 28, 2017
The Jetsons’ world of driverless cars may someday be a reality and the technology industry is laser-focused on getting us there sooner rather than later. As private industry innovates, decision-makers in Washington are grappling with how best to regulate the autonomous vehicle (AV) landscape while retaining an emphasis on both safety and innovation. To spur......
September 08, 2017
Congress returned to Washington this week with a long to-do list of must finish items, including passing a Hurricane Harvey relief package, raising the debt ceiling, and reauthorizing both the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Both the House and the Senate hit the ground running. The Senate passed a......
Poll Says It All—Most Americans Willing to Pay More at the Pump
July 25, 2017
From structurally deficient bridges to dilapidated roads, there’s no question our infrastructure suffers from a lack of funding. Fortunately, most Americans are now willing to pay to reverse this trend. According to a recent Bloomberg national poll, 55 percent of Americans say they would pay a higher gas tax to repair their infrastructure. Even more......