President's Blog

The Impact of Infrastructure on our Daily Lives

2007-08-24T16:47:55-04:00

Last week, I traveled to Chicago for the opening of ASCE's Me, Myself and Infrastructure: Private Lives and Public Works in America exhibit. I would like to thank Greg Dreicer from the Chicago Architectural Foundation for his partnership in bringing this exhibit to Chicago and putting the grand opening event together. The opening reception attracted a number of civil engineers and architects, in addition to others who were simply interested in learning more about the social impact of infrastructure. The relationship between civil engineers and architects is a special one. Engineers and architects are vested in the integrity of our infrastructure-both structurally and aesthetically. They depend on each other to make infrastructure sustainable and appealing for generations to come, which made the partnership on resurrecting this display very appropriate.

This display was originally conceived five years ago as part of ASCE's 150^th anniversary celebration. At the time, ASCE approached this display as an investigation of infrastructure as the public would see it. The re-introduction of this display is very timely as infrastructure has remained a hot topic in the years since the display was first introduced. The shocking bridge collapse in Minneapolis, and the failure of the levees in New Orleans have made Americans more aware of infrastructure issues, but the following questions still remain: How safe is our infrastructure? Who's responsible? And, how much will building and fixing it cost? The exhibit addresses these tough questions and encourages visitors to look at infrastructure as much more than just beams, pipes and roadways.

If you're in Chicago in the next several months, I encourage you to stop by and see the exhibit. It will be on display at the Chicago Architectural Foundation through November 16^th.

Levee Lessons Carry from Coast to Coast

2007-08-15T10:10:57-04:00

I recently attended a California levee conference sponsored by ASCE's Sacramento Section and the Society of American Military Engineers. While I was there, I spent a day riding around the Sacramento and San Joaquin delta areas. The levees along the Sacramento, American and San Joaquin Rivers were built by farmers and settlers more than 100 years ago and since then, have not been properly modernized or adequately maintained to protect the population in the area today. In light of the recently released Hurricane Katrina External Review Panel (ERP) final report, it is important to look at the situation in California and try to incorporate the lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina to prevent a possible disaster in the California delta.

The ERP report found that many of the failings of the Hurricane Protection System (HPS) dealt with questionable decisions and management choices, along with inadequate communications between organizations in relation to the disaster. We learned that the HPS was constructed as individual pieces, not as an interconnected system. It also appeared to operate as such. These findings relate to the challenge that California faces today as they are going through a lot of the same organizational issues. Last year, ASCE members in California released a report that gave the state's levees and flood control system a failing grade. It is clear that more work needs to be done to prepare this system for a natural disaster, whenever it may strike. That's why I believe that the ERP report provides a guide for cities like Sacramento to recognize what went wrong and ensure that improvements will be made to understand risk and embrace safety, revamp management practices and demand engineering quality in their region.

What else can communities, such as Sacramento, learn from what happened during Hurricane Katrina? What can they do now in their systems to prevent another disaster?

Bridge Collapse in Minneapolis

2007-08-05T17:23:35-04:00

On behalf of our 140,000 members, ASCE extends its deepest condolences to the victims, the injured, their families and all others affected by the catastrophic bridge collapse in Minneapolis on Aug 1. The I-35W bridge's main 458-foot span collapsed into the Mississippi River during evening rush hour, sending dozens of vehicles and tons of concrete and twisted metal into the waters of the Mississippi River 64 feet below.

Across our country, the sustainability of our infrastructure continues to come into question. Only a week and a half ago the civil engineering community was faced with a steam pipe burst in New York City. Now the Midwest is suffering from a catastrophic event that further illustrates that action must be taken by both lawmakers and civil engineers in the community to call attention to this important issue.

ASCE periodically assesses the state of our nation's infrastructure, most recently through the 2005 Report Card for America's Infrastructure. Our Infrastructure Action Plan spells out short term steps the U.S. Congress should take to improve our infrastructure. Together, we need to advocate for public policy action to make our country's infrastructure safer and sustainable for future generations. ASCE estimates that $1.6 trillion is needed over a five-year period to bring the nation's infrastructure to a good condition. Funds must be invested and significant steps must be made on the national level, as well as in state legislatures and local communities, to improve our nation's failing infrastructure.

What have you done, in your role as a civil engineer, to take action and influence how the government views the state of our infrastructure?

Revisiting Our Nation's Crumbling Infrastructure

2007-07-24T17:09:09-04:00

ASCE has established itself as a leader and expert when it comes to addressing our nation's infrastructure crisis. We have published several Report Cards for America's Infrastructure. The most recent gave our nation an overall grade of "D" in 2005. The importance of this issue was brought to our attention last week when an 83-year-old, 24-inch steam pipe burst during rush hour in New York City, killing one and injuring several others. Unfortunately, it often takes an incident like this to bring the issue to the forefront.

ASCE estimates that $1.6 trillion is needed over a five-year period to bring the nation's infrastructure to a good condition. The crumbling state of our infrastructure poses a real threat to public safety and the nation's economy, and financing the urgently needed repairs must become a priority for our nation's leaders. One way for ASCE members to get involved is to develop and promote Report Cards at the Section or Branch level for their cities, states or regions. Sections and Branches can localize the national Report Card by focusing on infrastructure that is relevant to their geographical area. Once it is completed, a Section or Branch can promote its own Report Card to influence local residents and key decision-makers to support infrastructure renewal. I think this is a great way to show the importance of this issue and get involved in an effort that could greatly impact your local community.

Has your local Section or Branch produced a state Report Card? If so, did any local government action happen as a result of its release?

A Quick Fly in to Washington

2007-03-27T10:10:41-04:00

I recently attended ASCE's 7th Annual Leadership Training in Government Relations Fly-in in Washington D.C. More than 130 ASCE members from across the country took part in what I felt was a very successful and productive leadership training. We focused in particular on the National Infrastructure Improvement Act, the Water Quality Financing Act of 2007 and the Dam Rehabilitation and Repair Act. I had the opportunity to join my fellow ASCE members to visit congressional offices to promote these bills. More than 200 total visits were made. On Friday of that week, the Water Quality Financing Act of 2007 passed-just one example of how ASCE's effective lobbying on the Hill contribute to the passage of bills which are critical to the work of civil engineers.

To coincide with this event, ASCE launched its Infrastructure Action Plan. ASCE has identified 11 legislative actions that Congress can take to raise the grades for America's failing infrastructure. While we can't expect changes to happen overnight, there are some small steps that can be taken by Congress to begin improving our infrastructure. I believe that this Action Plan is one of the critical tools that will lead the government to think long and hard about what action needs to be taken to help our failing infrastructure. I encourage you to check out the Action Plan online at http://www.asce.org/reportcard/2005/actionplan07.cfm

What do you feel are some of the actions that need to be taken to help our failing infrastructure?

Navigating Complex Issues

2007-02-12T00:00:00-05:00

Bio-mimicry. Pedalogically correct. Fragility curve. Giggle-test. These words are what I call techno-babble...complex words that convey something extremely important in a fancy way. If you've ever been in a meeting where a group of people are trying to develop a mission statement, it's hard to sort through all the technical jargon. Here's a new one for you: "We should use multi-attributable anticipatory management with Cartesian thinking taking into account interdependencies with cross-sector expertise tied into by-product synergy and bio-mimicry to provide an integrated design, or to be pedalogically correct, we should just manage our firms like a hickory forest." As evidenced by this example, it's tricky to categorize techno-babble and find meaning behind the words. But as I learned recently at the Civil Engineering Forum for Innovation's (CEFI) conference, once you sort through all the techno-babble and try to read between the lines, the meanings behind it can be critical to understanding the complexities of our infrastructure crisis.

I recently attended , I attended this conference in Washington, D.C. The program was full of excellent insight into the issues surrounding sustainability and it drew some high-powered speakers. I felt this conference was a great opportunity for "captains of industry" to discuss sustainability with a room full of engineers from government, academia and the private sector. The concept of sustainability is a complex one, which needs to connect innovative industries with the technical know-how of civil engineers. When these groups of people get together, there is a lot to talk which extends beyond the need for more federal funding and support from Congress on infrastructure issues. I hope that the next conference will attract even more captains of industry to the table.

I'd like to hear what you think about our nation's infrastructure crisis. What can we learn from industry leaders about sustainability? What can they learn from civil engineers? And lastly, how can we get the captains of industry to the table?