In the process of putting together this issue, we were also busy participating in Infrastructure Week. It was a national week of events from May 16–May 23, with media coverage, education, and advocacy efforts intended to elevate infrastructure as a critical issue. Although it’s come and gone, the current state of the nation’s infrastructure and the issues of how to go about fixing it all remain. I asked company executives and industry experts four questions on the subject of infrastructure:
- Which infrastructure projects should be given priority? Roads and bridges? Dams and levees? Water supply? Electrical grid?
- Is there a solution to long-term infrastructure funding?
- What kind of harm is the current state of our infrastructure doing to the economy and the community?
- What can various government entities—from local to federal—do to attract private sector support and investment?
The editors of our sister publications of Forester Media—Stormwater, Erosion Control, Water Efficiency, Business Energy, and MSW Management—asked the same four questions of their industry executives and experts. The responses across the board sounded out the urgent need to do something about the failing infrastructure.
Specifically, the first question regarding priorities varied among the different magazines and the corresponding industry experts. For example, Brant Keller, the director of public works and utilities in Griffin, GA, replied to Stormwater magazine:
“Water supply is the flavor of the month. The changes are creating havoc with several regions in the USA and other parts of the world. Water supply and how we manage it is critical for sustainability and the way we do business in the future. Roads and bridges come in a close second, and the main issue is funding. Everyone knows we have a problem when they travel the road, streets, and bridges daily.”
Answering Grading & Excavation Contractor, Adrien Patané, the regional manager of technology solutions and services at Trimble, responded to the first question with a broader, more all-encompassing perspective.
“The choice or type of project, while it should be based on today’s societal choices to improve community’s quality of life, sometimes must be shared with the urgency to rectify aging and crumbling infrastructures that take over investment priority.”
As for the third question, the one about the harm the current state of the infrastructure is doing to the economy and the community…there seemed to be widespread consensus and focus on our roads and bridges.
Gordon England, a civil engineer and stormwater consultant in Cocoa Beach, FL, submitted this answer to Stormwater magazine:
“When roads and bridges are overloaded, costs increase for delays in transportation, which are reflected in every item bought in stores. When there are failures such as Katrina or I-95 shutting down in South Carolina, costs to society are massive for reconstruction.”
Although some, such as Laurent Vernerey, the president and CEO of Schneider Electric, spoke within the boundaries of her industry when answering Business Energy‘s questionnaire:
“There are too many constraints on our existing networks. Our aging infrastructure is limited. Generation capacity is limited. Network extension is limited. It’s difficult to integrate intermittent and distributed generation sources like wind and solar power. We need new solutions to solve the energy equation.
“Most importantly, the cost of outages, leaks, and breaks—any downtime caused by the state of our infrastructure—to residents, businesses, industrials, and the government can have lasting effects.”
All of the responses to all of Forester Media’s magazines infrastructure questions can be found on our website at http://bit.ly/FNIW2016. You can even join the discussion and let us know your responses to the same questions.
One thing is certain: ALL of the experts and executives who took the time to respond to our questions did so with passion, purpose, insight, and a sense of hope. Infrastructure weighs heavy in their thoughts. They’re ready—we’re all ready—to get to work.
