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Louisiana Section’s PR Campaign Sets a Great Example
January 20th, 2012 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card
We are repeating this post because we thought the information would also be of interest to the readers of this blog. It was first posted on Friday, January 20th, 2012 As the Louisiana Section was gearing up to release its first state Report Card this month, members realized that spreading the word of their findings would require an effective public relations campaign. Realizing they lacked the expertise to execute such a campaign, Section members hired a PR consultant, Baton Rouge-based Mark Lambert. The Section also reached out to ASCE’s Communications and Government Relations departments to request training based on ASCE’s PR University seminar. A half-day PR workshop allowed members to work one on one with ASCE staff who traveled to Baton Rouge. As tailored specifically for the Report Card’s release, the workshop identified proper spokespersons and covered potential issues they might have to address. One critical component was the development of strategies to promote the Report Card to elected officials after the planned press conference, in order to keep the momentum going. With what they’d learned during the PR workshop in mind, the Section wisely decided to reschedule the release upon learning that Louisiana’s governor would unveil an education plan on the same date. With that conflict avoided, the consultant and Nedra Davis, the Section’s communications representative, reached out to reporters one day prior to the rescheduled event to make sure the press conference was on their radar. The day of the event, a news release was distributed statewide. ASCE’s Communications staff distributed it to national trade publications, as well as some Washington, D.C.-based reporters who covered ASCE’s national Report Card for America’s Infrastructure and our Failure to Act economic studies. The press conference was a success. Three TV stations and other media covered their announcement. The Louisiana Section’s actions reflect the type and quality of services ASCE can offer to Sections and Branches — whether it is a state Report Card or the designation of a historical civil engineering landmark.Candidates, Citizens, and the Media Paying Greater Attention to Infrastructure …
January 13th, 2012 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card
As we start the new year, there has been an increased national focus on campaigns and elections, from the presidential race, to congressional elections and state elections. Whatever the source of news coverage, you’ve likely noticed the saturation of coverage on debates, speeches, town halls, and Sunday morning news hours that revolve around the GOP primaries and caucuses as they take to the task of choosing a nominee. ASCE is a 501(c)(3) organization, and does not support or oppose any candidate for political office. Nevertheless, one thing that has become obvious is that there has been an increasing amount of discussion across the spectrum about the need to invest in our nation’s infrastructure. It seems that the general public, and increasingly the candidates for local and national offices, understand that infrastructure is a pocketbook issue. More citizens are tired of wasting their time (and money) in congested traffic. ASCE’s recent water economic study noted a projected $147 billion in increased costs to businesses by 2020 because of our aging and inadequate water infrastructure. The following headline appeared in a Politico story last week: “Candidates steer clear of transportation before Iowa” appearances (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/71028.html). However, the headline doesn’t tell the full story. While these candidates haven’t been using transportation as a key facet of their platform, they are getting asked about it on the campaign trail. It is this sort of attention from citizens and the news media that encourages current and prospective public officials to bring their plans and ideas about infrastructure into open discussion. The fact that local citizens are routinely raising concerns about infrastructure needs in town hall meetings and other candidate appearances highlights how ASCE’s hard work on raising the discussion of infrastructure nationwide is paying dividends. This focus is also the result of an on-going project by Building America’s Future to engage citizens in New Hampshire and South Carolina to talk about infrastructure. Building America’s Future has created a webpage to compile and aggregate what candidates are saying about infrastructure (http://www.bafuture.org/GopDecision2012). It is intended to serve as a one-stop-shop for readers to review public comments made by candidates and elected officials regarding infrastructure investment and reforms. It houses current and past video, audio, and news articles ranging from transportation to broadband, and everything in between. They’ve also compiled an audit of mentions and policy positions from candidate websites, with an emphasis on educating the public on the range of ideas and suggestions proposed for addressing this important topic. Regardless of whether the country is in an election year, ASCE believes that it is essential for the needs of America’s infrastructure to remain at the forefront of the conversation. Investing in transportation and infrastructure, especially when it’s needed so badly, is one of the surest ways to shore up an economy. We hope you’ll use our latest research and infographics at www.asce.org/failuretoact, as well as other materials available through ASCE and like organizations, to take part in driving informed conversation about infrastructure issues and to make addressing America’s infrastructure challenges a priority issue in the coming year and beyond. ASCE is a 501(c)(3) organization, and does not support or oppose any political candidate, party, or platform. The information provided herein is for general information only, and should not be interpreted as an endorsement of any political party or campaign. An informed decision on a legislator’s performance should be based on all aspects of the individual’s work, such as performance on committees and constituent service, not merely the legislator’s votes on a few select issues.ASCE Releases Economic Study on Nation’s Water Infrastructure
December 15th, 2011 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card
ASCE is releasing a report today identifying the long-term consequences to the nation’s economy from failing to invest today in our aging drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. The report is the second in a four part series of economic studies assessing the impacts of continued underinvestment in the nation’s infrastructure systems. The report, Failure to Act: The Economic Impact of Current Investment Trends in Water and Wastewater Treatment Infrastructure, answers the question of how the condition of the nation’s deteriorating wastewater and drinking water infrastructure impinges on economic prosperity of American jobs, businesses, and entire sectors of the economy. In other words, how does a D- for water treatment identified ASCE’s 2009 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure affect America’s economic future? The report’s results are sobering. Water infrastructure in the United States is aging, and investments have not kept pace with the escalating costs. In fact, the report finds that by 2020, the US will have fallen $84 billion short of the investments needed in our critical water systems. Even with the increased use of sustainable practices and cost-effective development of other efficiency methods, the growing gap between capital needs to maintain drinking-water and wastewater treatment infrastructure and investments to meet those needs will likely result in unreliable water service and inadequate wastewater treatment. However, if we close that gap and invest in our water infrastructure, we can prevent the following impacts by 2020:- $59 billion in increased costs to households
- $147 billion in increased costs to businesses
- $416 billion in lost Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
- Loss of 700,000 jobs
Romans and Roads
December 2nd, 2011 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card
Since the beginning of our current economic downturn, pundits and armchair historians alike have compared the modern United States to the Roman Empire shortly before its decline. I usually change the channel or flip to the next page when I read such headlines, because to put it plainly – the US is not Rome. I chalk it up to a case of playing on people’s fears to attract viewers or sell books, and go about my day. However, there are similarities between the two, and the good news is, unfortunately for Rome, we can learn from their expense. We all know what happened to the great and vast Roman Empire. It came to its height, in part, because of its vast and advanced transportation and infrastructure network. Its army was efficient in many ways, but part of the ferocity that struck fear in the enemies of Rome was the speed at which its fighting force could travel on the roads they built. Trade across the empire was considered reliable and consistent because of the costs the Romans bore in order to ensure a working transportation system. Even today, Roman roads are still used by Europeans. In fact, an Aqueduct in the Spanish town of Segovia had been used to provide water until only recently. Alas, Rome fell for a number of unique and specific reasons, but the beginning of the end of the Roman Empire paralleled closely with the rapid decline in its infrastructure. At ASCE we are committed to efficient, sustainable, and smart infrastructure development and work to include and educate lawmakers in our federal, state, and local governments on the imperatives we are facing. As with any issue that impacts the well being of our future, the old adage of “those who forget history are doomed to repeat” can be applied to the many ways in which we seek to advance the quality of our nation’s roads, bridges, dams, etc. We have the distinct benefit of being able to look back into our history and learn from the lessons of previous civilizations. As we begin our efforts to release ASCE’s 2013 Report Card on America’s Infrastructure, we should also ready ourselves to finally tackle the problems facing our nation’s declining network of transportation and infrastructure.Senate Committee is “Moving Ahead for Progress”
November 8th, 2011 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee released their long awaited two year surface transportation authorization bill this week. The bill, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century or MAP-21, maintains current levels of investment plus inflation for fiscal years 2012 and 2013, while making significant reforms to the current program. The full Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will be marking up the legislation tomorrow morning and ASCE sent a letter to Committee Members today urging their support. The reforms included in MAP-21 allow for the nation’s surface transportation program to move forward. Consolidating the 90 programs into 30, creating a National Freight Network Program, expediting project delivery, creating reasonable performance measures, and enhancing the TIFIA program are all steps that will allow for a stronger, more results-oriented transportation program. The legislation also reduces the core highway programs from seven to five, which include three new core programs and two existing programs. The new programs include a National Highway Performance Program, a Transportation Mobility Program, and a National Freight Network Program; while the remaining programs are the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program and the Highway Safety Improvement Program. Other positive reforms include a new title, called “America Fast Forward”, which strengthens the TIFIA program by increasing funding to $1 billion per year; while Title 1 takes steps to improve the existing highway bridge inspection program and authorizes a national tunnel inspection program. The bill also establishes an outcome-driven approach that tracks performance and will hold states and metropolitan planning organizations accountable for improving the conditions and performance of their transportation needs, which ASCE has supported in the past. ASCE is looking forward to working with Members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to move the MAP-21 legislation through the 112th Congress. The nation’s surface transportation needs in the 2009 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure (www.infrastructurereportcard.org) totaled $1.2 billion, while ASCE’s latest economic study on surface transportation displays the effects that the network has on the nation’s economic competitiveness. For more information on the economic study, Failure to Act: the Economic Impact of Current Investment Trends in Surface Transportation, please visit our website. www.asce.org/economicstudyPresident Continues Push for Infrastructure Investment
November 7th, 2011 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card
In 1947, the home of Francis Scott Key, author of the “Star Spangled Banner”, was set to be demolished after several unsuccessful bids to restore it by the historic community of Georgetown. The home of the poet and patriot was eventually leveled, but after many years the Francis Scott Key Bridge was erected to span the Potomac and connect Rosslyn with Washington DC, serving as both a major artery for transportation and commerce as well as a memorial to the father of our national anthem. Now, 80 years after its completion in 1923, the bridge has been deemed structurally deficient by the Department of Transportation and is one of the thousands of decrepit bridges that the American Society of Civil Engineers says has earned America a “C” on the national status of our bridges. More currently, it was also the backdrop of a speech President Obama gave last Wednesday about the need for sustained infrastructure funding and the potential, according to a recent Forbes article, to create 27 million new jobs if adequately invested. In addition, the president also outlined his plan to expedite the flow of cash to shovel-ready projects that will fix our failing infrastructure and put Americans back to work. Having the ability to enjoy a beautiful morning and hear the President of the United States cite ASCE’s work and quote from our studies was a definitive reward, and a reminder that we provide powerful tools and information for our leaders in business and government. If you’d like to keep up on transportation and infrastructure related news and noteworthy items, you can follow us on Facebook and Twitter and ASCE members should join the Key Contact Program. As we move closer into the 2012 election year and inevitable spin zone and misinformation festival that will ensue, I’ll end with a quote from Ronald Reagan, which President Obama quoted in his speech yesterday: “The bridges and highways we fail to repair today will have to be rebuilt tomorrow at many times the cost.” The 2.2 trillion dollars ASCE estimates is required over 5 years to update and repair our infrastructure is the fulfillment of this prophecy. The longer we wait to pull our act together and agree, the more we will have to pay to address our infrastructure needs.Audi's Take on American Roads
September 26th, 2011 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card
Have you seen the new Audi ad? Check out what the folks at Foreign Policy’s Passport blog had to say about it. (And if you haven’t seen it, you can view a clip here as well.) My take on the new Audi commercial was slightly different – “Yes, let’s spend even more money on avoiding fixing the problems instead of actually fixing them.” Meaning, we know what it will take to improve the nation’s crumbling roads, bridges and transit systems – larger investments by ALL users, which is pretty much everyone who lives and breathes in the United States. You either use the systems directly, or use products and services that wouldn’t be available without transportation systems. See ASCE’s Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, especially our 5 Key Solutions. Yet, Audi would rather us invest more in their high-tech car that simply lets you avoid the roads that are all used up and in disrepair, rather than investing in fixing those broken-down roads so they would be useable by all vehicles. Not surprising since their goal is to sell more cars and make more profits. But the fact that this feature is first on Audi’s list of reasons to buy their luxury car above all the others means they must know this resonates with someone. This should be a little alarming to anyone who cares about improving our transportation systems.House approves short-term extensions
September 13th, 2011 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card
This afternoon the House of Representatives passed legislation which will extend Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and surface transportation programs at current funding levels while Congress continues to work on long-term reauthorizations. The legislation is titled, “Surface and Air Transportation Programs Extension Act of 2011” (H.R. 2887) and will extend the current FAA authorization until January 31st, 2012 and highway, transit, and highway safety programs until March 31st, 2012. The Senate is expected to approve the bill shortly. Following the House vote, ASCE President Elect Andrew Herrmann, P.E., SECB, F.ASCE, released the following statement,“The American Society of Civil Engineers applauds Congress for advancing legislation to fund the nation’s roads, airports, and public transportation systems.
Extending the surface transportation and aviation programs at current funding levels ensures that over 1.8 million jobs across all 50 states and the District of Columbia will be protected in the near term. This clean extension gives Congress the opportunity to begin the real work of passing a crucial longer-term bill.
While we are heartened by the bipartisan support for this law, an extension at current funding levels represents the bare minimum of what must be done to address our nation’s crumbling transportation infrastructure.
America’s transportation system is the very backbone of our economy. If current funding levels are maintained long term – or if funding levels are cut – America can expect to lose hundreds of thousands of jobs and hundreds of billions of dollars in economic growth over the next 10 years. To ensure a prosperous and competitive economic future, ASCE urges Congress to increase long-term investment in the country’s deteriorating infrastructure.”
Senate EPW approves transportation extension
September 8th, 2011 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved, by a unanimous vote, a draft bill that would extend federal surface transportation programs through January 31, 2012. The legislation would be a clean extension of surface transportation programs and allows the Committee time to continue work on the Senate proposed two year surface transportation authorization bill. The current extension will expire on September 30th. ASCE has worked closely with Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer to speak with committee members and express the essential nature of another extension. On Wednesday ASCE sent a letter to Senators who serve on the Environment and Public Work Committee urging the need for another extension, while a long term authorization is worked out. Following the vote this morning, ASCE President Elect Andrew Herrmann, P.E., SECB, F.ASCE, stated “The American Society of Civil Engineers applauds the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee for supporting an essential funding authorization for the nation’s roads and public transportation systems. Today’s vote extending the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users – or “SAFETEA-LU” – for an additional four months ensures that 1.8 million jobs across all 50 states and the District of Columbia will be protected in the near term. “While we are heartened by the bipartisan support for this law, a four-month extension at current funding levels represents the bare minimum of what must be done to address our nation’s crumbling transportation infrastructure. America’s transportation system is the very backbone of our economy. If current funding levels are maintained long term – or if funding levels are cut – America can expect to lose hundreds of thousands of jobs and hundreds of billions of dollars in economic growth over the next ten years. To ensure a prosperous and competitive economic future, ASCE urges Congress to increase long-term investment in the country’s deteriorating infrastructure.” ASCE urges Congress to increase long-term investment in the country’s deteriorating infrastructure and pass a multi-year surface transportation authorization. If the nations does not invest in surface transportation now, in the next ten years our nation’s economy is at risk of losing nearly $900 billion according to the ASCE surface transportation economic study that was released in July. ASCE will keep all Key Contacts up to date as the latest extension is passed in the Senate and worked on in the House."Earthicane" hits East coast
August 31st, 2011 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card
In the wake of an earthquake and Hurricane Irene pummeling the East coast, there is now a spotlight on infrastructure. Thousands of bridges and roads needed to be inspected to make sure that they were safe for use. The graphic shows the grades from the 2009 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure. These natural disasters are a reminder of the importance of infrastructure to our daily lives, and that our infrastructure cannot last forever without improvements and renovations. All of these categories were impacted in some way by these disasters. Schools were shut down, rail, roads, bridges and transit needed to be inspected for damage, flights were cancelled, dams and levees were full to the brim, sewage overflows dumped into waterways. As we recover from these natural disasters, we need to focus on preparing for future disasters by making improvements now to our infrastructure. Infrastructure improvements would assist in protecting lives and property against potential disasters. Congress needs to take action now on the nation’s infrastructure problems, before more lives and property are put at risk due to hazards and corrosion. ASCE and other groups involved in transportation are concerned that without swift congressional action to reauthorize surface transportation funding, jobs will be lost and transportation infrastructure will continue to deteriorate. In ASCE’s Failure to Act economic study we found failure to invest in transportation infrastructure will hurt the US economy and families in the long term. When Congress returns from their summer recess they will only have 11 legislative days until the 18.4 cents per gallon gas tax expires on September 30th, which will leave the highway trust fund without revenue. The recent FAA extension, passed during pro forma sessions held while most members of Congress were not in Washington, is set to expire on September 16th. ASCE hopes Congress will act quickly on these important pieces of legislation.Tags: economics, hazards, infrastructure, infrastructure report card
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