Raising The Grade: How the 2016 Water Resources Bill Can Help Improve America’s Dams & Levees
June 22, 2016
In this three-part blog series, we’ll take a look at projects, policy changes and programs included in S. 2848, the Water Resources Development Act of 2016. First up, Dams and Levees Improving the Nation’s Aging Dams: the National Dam Rehabilitation Program The early days of dam building across the U.S. provided energy, flood......
New Jersey Legislators Introduce Bills to Fix the Transportation Trust Fund
June 21, 2016
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......
New Jersey Infrastructure Receives D+ Report Card
June 16, 2016
Today, the 2016 Report Card for New Jersey’s Infrastructure gave an overall D+ grade for the State’s infrastructure. The report evaluated 13 separate components of New Jersey’s infrastructure, all of which were given a grade based on the components’ condition, capacity, funding, future need, operation and maintenance, public safety, resilience, and innovation. The transit and......
New Jersey Report Card Coming Next Week
June 08, 2016
With only a few weeks left before New Jersey’s Transportation Trust Fund goes insolvent, the Report Card for New Jersey’s Infrastructure will be released on Thursday, June 16 to underscore the importance to #FixNJTrustFund with a sustainable, long-term funding solution. The report will grade surface transportation categories of bridges, rail, roads, and transit, along with dams, drinking water,......
National Dam Safety Awareness Day 2016: Safety of Dams and Safety at Dams
May 31, 2016
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......
Infrastructure in the News: Let the Memorial Day Travel Woes Begin
May 27, 2016
Memorial Day weekend has arrived, and with it a dramatic a reminder of the congested and worn out state of our surface transportation infrastructure. As people take to the roads in order to reach their Memorial Day weekend destinations, reports predict that congestion will be at an 11-year peak. According to AAA, more than 38......
House Transportation Committee Passes Water Resources Bill
May 26, 2016
The House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee advanced a $5.5 billion Water Resource Development Act (WRDA) this week. A path forward for H.R. 5303 will require support from the full chamber, a commitment by House leadership to give the bill floor time, and ultimately a compromise with the much more expansive Senate bill that advanced out......
Infrastructure in the News: Issues abound during Infrastructure Week
May 20, 2016
With Infrastructure Week raising awareness of the important role our roads, bridges, transit and water infrastructure play, this week’s news headlines have been powerful reminders of our need for further action. ASCE’s Failure to Act economic report continues to garner news headlines, emphasizing our infrastructure investment needs. CNBC, and C-SPAN covered the economic impact of......
The High Cost of Underinvesting in Infrastructure: $9 a day
May 10, 2016
Today’s release of the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Failure to Act: Closing the Investment Gap for America’s Economic Future reveals that inadequate infrastructure is costing every American family $3,400 a year in disposable income. The economic study, an update to the initial series ASCE released prior to the 2013 Report Card, identifies the 10-year......
Closing America’s Infrastructure Gap
May 09, 2016
Infrastructure is the backbone of our economy and when it’s not maintained all Americans feel the effects, but what does that look like in dollars for my family, my business and the overall economy? The American Society of Civil Engineers’ new economic study, Failure to Act: Closing the Infrastructure Investment Gap for......