Author Archive
Senate Commerce Subcommittee Explores Multimodal Transportation System Needs
February 16th, 2017 | By: Infrastructure Report Card
Wednesday, the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security convened their first hearing of the 115th Congress. “Moving America: Stakeholder Perspectives on our Multimodal Transportation System” was billed as an opportunity for stakeholders to discuss strategies for improving the efficiency and safety of the nation’s multimodal freight network. In her opening remarks, Subcommittee Chairman Deb Fischer (R-NB) applauded the previous Congress for passage of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. Unfortunately, acknowledged the Senator, the chronic insolvency of the Highway Trust Fund was not addressed in a meaningful and long-term way by the FAST Act. To mitigate future shortfalls, which are forecasted to resume in 2020 (the same year the FAST Act expires), Senator Fischer touted her “Build USA Infrastructure Act” during Wednesday’s hearing. Fischer’s legislation would divert a percentage of Customs and Border Patrol fees, which are collected on freight and passengers at ports of entry, to the Highway Trust Fund, as well as offer states additional flexibility as they initiate critical transportation infrastructure projects. Four witnesses provided their perspectives on the challenges and opportunities for the multimodal freight system. Matt Rose, Executive Chairman at BNSF, spoke at length about how shifts in energy consumption are affecting his industry. Mr. Rose encouraged Congress to be cognizant of freight rail public benefits, including improvements to the environment, reduced highway congestion and associated maintenance costs, and supply chain efficiencies. He finished by imploring Congress to increase investment in U.S. infrastructure at large, preferably through a strengthened “user pays” program. Christopher Lofgren, President and Chief Executive Officer at Schneider National, provided insights into the trucking and transportation logistics industry by overviewing Schneider National’s best practices. Current freight bottlenecks create challenges for his company, testified Mr. Lofgren, and with U.S. freight volumes anticipated to grow by 45 percent by the year 2040, those challenges will only increase. It’s imperative that Congress increase investment in the country’s surface transportation infrastructure, which will ultimately improve the health of the overall economy. Tom Guard, Vice President of Integrated Supply Chain at the Dow Chemical Company, testified about the unique needs of the chemical industry when getting goods to market. Mr. Guard overviewed his industry’s reliance on multiple modes of transport, including rail, road, and marine, and emphasized the culture of safety used by his company when transporting hazardous materials. Wick Moorman, President and CEO of Amtrak, outlined the clear federal role in maintaining and improving the passenger network. He emphasized to lawmakers that while public-private partnerships can be utilized in some scenarios, those structures cannot replace federal funding. The federal government must provide adequate levels of investment, as well as in leadership in streamlining and environmental review, and removing red tape. Should the White House choose to release an infrastructure investment plan, perhaps in conjunction with the FY 2018 budget request, members of the Commerce Committee and others in the Capitol will explore how the President proposes to spend additional revenue. Congress, including both parties and several Committees of jurisdiction in both the House and Senate, will be instrumental in determining how to make Trump’s campaign promise into a reality.A Look Back at Infrastructure Progress
January 5th, 2017 | By: Infrastructure Report Card
The Infrastructure Report Card evaluates the progress (and sometimes regress) of the nation’s infrastructure over a four-year period. As ASCE prepares to release its next Report Card on March 9, here are some of the most notable accomplishments that have happened since 2013, including many that were identified as ways to “raise the grade” in the 2013 recommendations. Federal Transportation December 2015 saw the signing of the FAST Act, which authorized federal surface transportation programs for five years. Congress had passed nearly 40 short-term extensions, so the passage of a long-term bill was a victory for proponents of infrastructure and everyday Americans who use it. The FAST Act provided a small increase in funding, but did not fix the Highway Trust Fund’s underlying revenue problem. The FAST Act included the creation of a “Nationally Significant Freight and Highway projects” program, which the Department of Transportation christened FASTLANE. The program provides $4.5 billion over five year (subject to appropriations) for highway and intermodal freight projects through a competitive grant program. The first round of recipients was announced in September 2016 and the 18 grantees received a combined $759.2 million. Another major stride was a reduction in structurally deficient bridges. The percentage of bridges that are classified as structurally deficient has decreased since the last report card. From 2012 to 2015, the percentage of bridges designated structurally deficient went from 11% to 9.6%. Water Resources The last four years have been banner for water resources projects and programs. Starting in 2013 Congress began working on a new Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). WRDA bills authorize new projects at the Army Corps of Engineers, such as port modernization, inland waterway maintenance and lock and dam upgrades. Congress passed a WRDA bill in 2014 (the first time since 2007) and promised to continue passing the bill every two years in an attempt to keep up with the nation’s most economically way of moving goods and ensuring the safety of millions of people living behind levees and dams. The bill included a new levee safety program, made important changes to the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund and created a new innovative water project financing tool called the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA). Keeping their word, Congressional leaders began drafting a new water resources bill in early 2016. After 10 months of work, a new Water Resources Development Act of 2016 passed in the last few hours of Congress meeting in December. The bill was included in the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN) which provided aid to Flint, Mich to assist wit the lead water crisis and also significant resources to California for drought relief. Finally, the 2016 bill included a new dam rehabilitation program that will help communities mitigate the risk of high hazard aging dams across the country. Science and Research American Innovation and Competitiveness Act (12/16/16) reauthorized most of the nation’s non-medical research and development programs including those at the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and other federal programs on innovation, manufacturing, and science and math education. ASCE supported the legislation. The National Windstorm Impact Reduction Act Reauthorization (9/13/15) reauthorized the program first established in 2004, largely through ASCE efforts, to reduce in the losses of life and property from windstorms through a coordinated effort aimed at improving the understanding of windstorms and their impacts and developing and encouraging the implementation of cost-effective mitigation measures to reduce those impacts. STEM Education Every Student Achieves Act (12/10/15) reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and replaced No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The ASCE-supported bill includes funding to support a wide range of STEM education activities, including teacher professional development and hands on learning. ASCE worked with the STEM Education Coalition to ensure that STEM (science-technology-education-mathematic) education remained a major focus of the bill. State Starting with Wyoming’s approval of a 10-cent gas tax hike in February 2013, we’ve seen gas tax increases or reforms enacted with bipartisan support—and the trend is expected to continue in 2017. Since then we have seen 16 states increase their gas taxes. The most recent state to do so was New Jersey with a 23-cent gas tax increase to help fund its Transportation Trust Fund.Pokémon Can Be Caught on Transit, at National Parks Across the Country
July 20th, 2016 | By: Infrastructure Report Card
In recent weeks, Pokémon Go has gone viral across the United States, with millions of users of all ages joining in on the interactive game. Due to the huge commercial and cultural success of the game, transit agencies are getting in on the action. In the game, players use their phones to locate and capture virtual Pokémon characters in the real environment around them. Players can also pick up virtual supplies at real locations designated as PokéStops and battle their collection of Pokémon at designated community Gyms. In an effort to boost ridership and make transit more fun for commuters, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and other transit agencies have taken to social media to promote opportunities to catch Pokémon on trains, collect supplies at PokéStops located at transit stops, and battle other users at Gyms which can be found in many large transit stations. LA Metro has even created a specific Twitter account @PokemonGOMetro, to make followers aware of Pokémon located throughout the Metro network. In addition to the emerging intersection of transit and pop culture, Pokémon Go are situated at many iconic pieces of infrastructure, including many of ASCE’s Historical Civil Engineering Landmarks. Pokémon and PokéStops can be found at or near the U.S. Capitol, Brooklyn Bridge, Golden Gate Bridge, and many other landmarks, allowing users of the game to experience some of the greatest examples of American infrastructure. The National Park Service has also seen an influx of visits from Pokémon Go players, as many park visitor centers are designated as PokéStops or Gyms. While the Park Service has welcomed the new visitors, they have joined other government agencies in warning players to be aware of their surroundings while playing, and to never drive while playing. As long as users of the wildly popular game stay safe, they may be able to have fun while learning about some of best transit and infrastructure America has to offer!New Jersey Legislators Introduce Bills to Fix the Transportation Trust Fund
June 21st, 2016 | By: Infrastructure Report Card
Only a few days after the release of the 2016 Report Card for New Jersey’s Infrastructure, the political debate over saving the State’s soon to be insolvent Transportation Trust Fund (TTF) looms over both the New Jersey Senate and General Assembly. Yesterday, legislators in both chambers introduced identical bills to replenish the Fund, from which the State pays for maintenance, repairs and construction for transportation infrastructure. If the legislature does not act, the state’s Transportation Trust Fund will become insolvent on July 1. The bills, introduced by Sens. Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen) and Steve Oroho (R-Sussex), and by Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto (D-Hudson), are a welcome step towards recommitting public investment to the Transportation Trust Fund. The long-awaited legislative proposals call to fund the TTF with $20 billion over the next decade, and doubles municipal infrastructure aid to $400 million per year. If the legislation is successful, revenue for these long-term programs will come from an update to New Jersey’s outdated gas tax, which has lost a third of its purchasing power since it was last increased in 1988. The bills introduced yesterday in Trenton would increase the gas tax by 23 cents per gallon, and impose an approximately 13 cents per gallon tax on jet fuel. Offsetting the consumer costs of these new taxes would be the discontinuation of the New Jersey estate tax, greater tax exemptions for retirement income and low-income workers, and a new tax deduction for contributions to charities. The 2016 Report Card gave New Jersey’s roads, bridges, and transit grades of D+, D+ and D-, respectively. Among the most alarming statistics about transportation infrastructure found in the report is that 42% of New Jersey’s roadways are deficient, which means over 16,000 miles of roads are rough, distressed or cracked. Equally glaring is the state of New Jersey’s bridges. 1 in 11 are categorized as “structurally deficient,” and over 40% of all New Jersey bridges are expected to soon require improvements or complete replacement. As the most density populated state and a vital corridor between Philadelphia and New York City, New Jersey’s economic health and public welfare demand that the state prioritize investment in transportation infrastructure. Fixing the Transportation Trust Fund with a long-term solution is imperative to adequately addressing the infrastructure challenges highlighted by the 2016 Report Card for New Jersey’s Infrastructure. New Jersey’s lawmakers need to pass the bills before them immediately to protect the Transportation Trust Fund. Use #FixNJTrustFund on Twitter to call for action, and check out the full 2016 Report Card for New Jersey’s Infrastructure.National Dam Safety Awareness Day 2016: Safety of Dams and Safety at Dams
May 31st, 2016 | By: Infrastructure Report Card
By Lori C. Spragens, Executive Director, Association of State Dam Safety Officials
Today, May 31, is National Dam Safety Awareness Day. The day commemorates when the South Fork Dam failed on May 31, 1889, sending a deadly rush of water and debris into the city of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Commonly known as the Johnstown Flood, the disaster destroyed much of the city and took the lives of more than 2,200 people. Caused by human error and indifference, it is one of the worst human tragedies experienced in U.S. history. National Dam Safety Awareness Day is also an opportunity to better educate elected leaders and the public about the importance of dam safety, including having Emergency Action plans for high-hazard dams.
The upcoming anniversary of another landmark and tragic dam failure echoes the need to learn lessons from history. On June 5, 1976, Teton Dam in Idaho broke, inundating over 300 square miles and killing 11 people. The flood resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage, as well as extensive environmental damages.
Faulty decision making played a leading role in these catastrophes, both of which could have been prevented with better planning, more communication, and more humility. The good news is lessons learned from Johnstown and Teton have been applied to the establishment and improvement of dam safety programs at federal and state agencies throughout the U.S. Yet lack of dam owner vigilance and awareness continues. Over 65 percent of known dams in the U.S. are owned privately. Many dams determined to be deficient (there are over 4,000 in the U.S.) are not getting the upgrades needed to improve public safety. Many times this is due to a lack of funding and understanding of the risk.
Lack of awareness also contributes enormously to a danger posed by dams: including the hydraulic currents around them. This year, National Dam Safety Awareness Day will focus on encouraging swimmers and boaters to remain safe around dams.
Last year, at least 25 people drowned at dam sites across the U.S., and the trend is continuing this year, with at least 12 deaths reported in Alabama, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Several federal agencies and 49 states have statutes creating dam safety programs. Alabama is the only state without a dam safety program. These programs all share a common goal of safety of dams; striving to reduce the risk of catastrophic dam failures such as the Johnstown and Teton failures. No such nationwide initiative exists, however, to address the topic of recreational safety at dams; only a few states have directly confronted the issue.
Another challenge facing the nation’s aging dams is inadequate funding. The proposed Senate WRDA legislation has an opportunity to address that through a new dam rehabilitation funding assistance program. The program would authorize grants to go toward dam rehab. It will help dam owners who lack funding to rehabilitate, repair, or remove a high hazard potential dams, which are at risk of failure.
White House Summit on Resilience
May 12th, 2016 | By: Infrastructure Report Card
An important aspect of rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure is resiliency. While Congress has been hit or miss on infrastructure issues this Congress, yes on Surface Transportation, not so much on resilience and building sciences, the White House has recently begun to place more emphasis on resiliency. Highlights of the White House emphasis include a February 2nd White House Summit on Earthquake Resilience and the related Executive Order entitled Establishing a Federal Earthquake Risk Management Standard for Federal buildings; the Presidential Proclamation establishing May as Building Safety Month; and this week’s Conference on Resilient Building Codes. While these efforts will not have the impact of a major new initiative or Congressional approved programs, and comes with no real additional funding, these events do serve to use the White House’s “bully pulpit” to highlight the increasing natural hazards risks and the importance of resilience and buildings codes in mitigating these risk. The development of standards, model building codes, and the local and state adoption as the building code are largely outside of Federal authority. The Federal government does have a role, as funder of research, as coordinator of technology transfer and knowledge dissemination, and as a cheerleader in rallying the many players involved. The American Society of Civil Engineers is supportive of the White House effort and played a major role this week’s conference, which focused on the critical role codes and standards play in achieving a resilient nation. ASCE joined with other groups representing standard developers, code officials, scientist, insurers, local governments, federal agencies and industries, to share insights, recent successes in developing resilient building codes, and perhaps more challenging, encourage their adoption nationwide. The Society had two representatives at this week’s event: Richard Wright, Ph.D, NAE, Dist.M.ASCE, Chair of the ASCE Committee on Adaption to a Changing Climate, who participated in a panel addressing Climate Change and the Implications for Buildings and James Rossberg, PE, F.SEI, M.ASCE, ASCE’s Managing Director of Engineering Programs, who joined a panel on Resilience in the Codes and Standards Community. Watch the video of the conference here. In the absence of Congressional action on such pending issues as the reauthorization of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP), reauthorization of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the passage the National Mitigation Investment Act, cheerleading from the White House is, at least, trying to push the nation in the right direction.A Simple Action’s Torturous Path
September 25th, 2015 | By: Infrastructure Report Card
With the agreement by the House on September 16th to changes made by the Senate, H.R. 23, the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Act Reauthorization of 2015, is on its way to the President’s desk and likely approval. The House action completes a six year path to reauthorization of a small government program that almost no one opposes. The measure reauthorizes and slightly modifies the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program (NWIRP). The program ensures coordination on federal efforts to mitigate the impact of severe winds and will enhance cooperation among federal agencies including National Institute of Science and Technology, the National Science Foundation, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The measure provides authorizations of $21.1 million a year for three years. ASCE was instrumental in the creation of NWIRP in 2004, working closely with the original legislation’s authors Representative Randy Neugebauer (R-TX) and former Representative Dennis Moore (D-KS). ASCE members and staff worked closely with the sponsors, House Science Committee staff as well as numerous professional and industry groups over a five-year period to get the program created. The originating legislation authorized the program for five years to 2009. While a five-year effort to create a federal new program is to be expected, a six-year wait to reauthorize a program with board bipartisan support is not. It is however, an example of the current dysfunction of Congress. Such reauthorizations used to be routinely dealt with by Congress in a timely manner. Further proof of the breakdown of regular order is that is the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP), which is NWIRP big brother, still waits for reauthorization. First created in 1977, NEHRP was the model for NWIRP, and has a long track record of innovation in earthquake hazards mitigation. Since its creation, NEHRP has been reauthorized on a regular basis by Congress, the last time in 2004 in the same law that created NWIRP. However, since the authorizations for the two programs expired in 2009, Congress has been unable to complete reauthorization of either program on until last week. While lacking any true opposition, legislation to reauthorize the programs have been side tracked or become victim unrelated partisan squabbles in four different Congresses. The greatest current obstacle for NEHRP has been the lack of a champion. NWIPR has the luxury of its original sponsor, Mr. Neuegbauer, who is now a senior member of the House Science Committee, as a champion. Neither the current Chair of the House Science Committee, Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX), nor the Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, Senator John Thune (R-SD) have shown much interest in the program. Despite repeated efforts by ASCE and our colleagues in the NEHRP Coalition, no other champion has been identified. Details on both program are available at – http://www.nist.gov/el/nwirp/ & http://www.nehrp.gov/Congress’ Infrastructure To Do List for Fall
September 3rd, 2015 | By: Infrastructure Report Card
Summer comes to an end next week as Congress returns to the Capitol after a five-week recess. Deadlines will be the theme this fall, with the first being the Oct. 1 funding deadline to keep the government open. The second important deadline for ASCE is Oct. 29, when MAP-21, the surface transportation bill, expires. With a D+ cumulative GPA, the topic of America’s infrastructure should be at the top of their to-do lists. Congress has several opportunities to address some of the nation’s infrastructure needs in the coming weeks. Here’s what to watch: 1. Transportation Before the U.S. Senate adjourned for August recess, they passed the DRIVE Act, a six-year surface transportation bill. The DRIVE Act would end the current cycle of short-term program extensions and increase federal funding for surface transportation programs. The U.S. House of Representatives has until a new deadline of October 29 to act to pass their own multi-year bill before the current law expires. ASCE has been focused on communicating with House members on the need to act quickly and pass a long-term bill. You can help by contacting your House members and urging them to #FixTheTrustFund. 2. Appropriations for Federal Infrastructure Programs So far this year, the House has only passed six of 12 annual appropriations bills and the Senate has not yet passed a single one. There is an Oct. 1 deadline to complete this year’s appropriation. Among the major dilemmas holding up the appropriations process are disagreements over the overall funding amounts for the federal government, policy riders that bog down spending bills and fundamental differences on what level to fund federal environmental, healthcare and military programs. While it’s difficult enough for Congress to fund popular established bipartisan programs like the Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving funds (which are facing 23% cuts), newer programs, like the Levee Safety Initiative, have not received any funding since the Water Resources Reform & Development Act (WRRDA) passed. If these programs do not receive appropriations, then the progress made by creating them becomes stagnant and no real progress is made in addressing the infrastructure the legislation aimed to improve. With only 12 days to debate the remaining appropriations bills and take full chamber votes, Congress will resort to passing a short-term extension of federal government programs at the same funding levels as last fiscal year. These patches – also known as continuing resolutions – have become the common fallback solution where such large disagreements – even among members in the same party – impede the “regular order” appropriations process from working. 3. STEM and Science To ensure we have enough engineers to be stewards of our nation’s infrastructure in the future, we need to educate today’s students in STEM. Congress will return with competing legislation to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA); the last version was known as the No Child Left Behind Act, which would make changes to STEM education policies. The House version, known as the Student Success Act (H.R. 5), has been a purely partisan affair from the beginning, and passed the House with no Democratic Support. The Senate version, known as the Every Child Achieves Act of 2015 (S. 1177), is a bipartisan compromise measure which passed that chamber with wide support. The House bill makes significant cuts to educational programs and places no emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs. The Senate bill includes a focus on improving learning in the critical STEM subjects. ASCE, as a founding member of the STEM Education Coalition, strongly favors the Senate bill. It remains to be seen if House Republicans will be willing to compromise enough to move the legislation. Also facing the House/Senate divide is legislation to reauthorize the America COMPETES Act, which authorizes most of the nation’s non-medical, civilian research and development programs. The House passed H.R. 1806, the America COMPETES Act Reauthorization, earlier this year along the same partisan divide on their education bill. The House bill has been strongly condemned ASCE and other engineering, scientific, academic, and industry groups for making cuts to several areas including geosciences, as well as altering the National Science Foundation’s time-tested peer review method of awarding grants. The Senate Commerce Committee is meanwhile struggling to reach a bi-partisan compromise. Both pieces of legislation are long overdue and needed going forward, however if past performance is any indication then success is unlikely. This summer the Senate demonstrated that they can make infrastructure legislation a priority by passing the DRIVE Act. Now it’s time for that momentum to carry into the fall. Tell your members of Congress to make infrastructure a priority through the Save America’s Infrastructure phone app for iPhone and Android or online.Arizona’s Growth Makes Infrastructure a Smart Investment
May 14th, 2015 | By: Infrastructure Report Card
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 opportunities and challenges to keep up. The opportunities – new businesses arriving, increased productivity, and new jobs for workers – are there, but so are the challenges – congestion, having to expand existing infrastructure, and keeping up with maintenance for new and old assets. Arizona’s benefited from keeping ahead of it’s growth challenges in the past by adding new aviation facilities, growing the interstate network, and adding transit options that have outperformed their ridership estimates. Look at what has happened in just Maricopa county as the greater Phoenix area has grown:
Investing in infrastructure has been well-timed and helped ease the growing pains of the state, especially in the Phoenix, but what about the future? To review the condition and needs of the state’s infrastructure both now and for the future, ASCE released the 2015 Report Card for Arizona’s Infrastructure on Wednesday as part of national Infrastructure Week. The Report Card assessed nine categories, giving the state an overall grade of “C.” While faring better than the nation’s infrastructure as a whole, the report reveals that the state’s infrastructure needs attention both for today and the future to keep up with growth. Here is a short video that explains the challenges facing Arizona’s infrastructure:
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The state anticipates a significant population increase in the coming decades, so maintaining and modernizing infrastructure will be crucial to meet the needs of Arizona’s communities in the future. The Report Card offers five key solutions to raise the grades and prepare Arizona for the future:
- We need infrastructure every day so we have to keep it working with good maintenance.
- Investing in infrastructure has allowed Arizona to grow, and investing in smart projects will keep it growing.
- Every community’s leaders should order an infrastructure health check-up.
- Borrowing from infrastructure funds just means you’ll pay more tomorrow.
- Planning for Arizona’s future starts today with sustainable choices, innovative investments, and resilience.
Tags: Arizona, growth, infrastructure, invest, roads, smart, water
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Be a Part of Infrastructure Week
April 29th, 2015 | By: Infrastructure Report Card
The national week dedicated to highlighting the critical importance of investing in and modernizing America’s infrastructure systems, and the essential role infrastructure plays in our economy is May 11-15. The third-annual Infrastructure Week includes more than 30 events around the country from Alaska to Louisiana to New York.
A few of the events include:
- MONDAY in Washington, D.C. – Infrastructure Week Launch: Breaking through to the Future
- TUESDAY in Cleveland, OH – Follow the Flow: Celebrating Clean Water Investments in the Cleveland Metro
- WEDNESDAY in Pittsburgh, PA – Pittsburgh on the Move and Infrastructure Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C.
- THURSDAY in New Orleans, LA – Infrastructure Delivers More Than You Think with Tour of Port NOLA
- FRIDAY in Washington, D.C. – Building Resilience through New Financing Vehicles
Tags: infrastructure, planes, ports, report card, roads, states, trains
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