September 14, 2018
Today, the House of Representatives passed the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2018, S. 3021. The passage of this bill authorizes key programs and projects that are critical to improving our nation’s water-related infrastructure categories. The 2017 Infrastructure Report Card graded each of these categories; ports received a grade of “C+,” while dams, levees,......
California Report Plots Path for Climate-Safe Infrastructure
September 06, 2018
Paying it Forward: The Path Toward Climate-Safe Infrastructure in California, released on Wednesday, offers comprehensive recommendations on how the state can move forward to ready its infrastructure for a changing climate. California is a leader in this area, understandably so given the droughts, wildfires, and mudslides the state endures. The report is a direct result......
Mississippi Special Legislative Session Addresses Funding Need for Bridges and Roads
August 30, 2018
Earlier this year, the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) had to close nearly 500 bridges to ensure the safety of the traveling public and another 1,742 were posted with specific weight limits due to structural deficiency. In addition, 28% of Mississippi’s roads are in poor condition, 12.30% of bridges are structurally deficient, and the condition......
Harris County Voters Approve $2.5 Billion Flood Infrastructure Bond 1 Year After Hurricane Harvey
August 27, 2018
On Saturday, August 25th, exactly one year after Hurricane Harvey made landfall, Harris County voters overwhelmingly approved a $2.5 billion infrastructure bond (Proposition A), which aims to protect Houston from future storms and flooding. Proposition A passed with over 85% voter approval. Approval of this measure means that taxpayers in Harris County will see a......
Power Outage Complicates Summer Air Travel at Reagan Airport
August 17, 2018
When we plug our phones into the wall we expect them to start charging, and when we flip a light switch we expect the lights to go on. Most of the time, these systems work just fine, but this week, travelers at Washington’s Reagan National Airport sat for 90 minutes with no power, while others......
Chairman Shuster Releases Infrastructure Proposal
July 25, 2018
This week, U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) released his long-awaited infrastructure discussion draft. Key components of the plan include fixing the Highway Trust Fund (HTF), investing in transportation and water resources infrastructure, financing innovative projects, and accelerating project delivery. The plan also calls for an increase of 15 cents per......
New Report Explores Planning for America’s Water Infrastructure Needs
July 13, 2018
Leaders in the water infrastructure industry, in association with The Bill Lane Center for the American West at Stanford University, released a report titled “Planning for America’s Water Infrastructure Need,” which focuses on shared interests and challenges likely to face water infrastructure in the future. The report came out of a workshop held in February that......
California Transportation Investment at Stake in November
June 26, 2018
California legislators voted in the spring of 2017 to raise the state’s gas tax for the first time in 23 years. Gov. Jerry Brown praised the decision and signed the bill, SB1, into law, ushering in $5 billion worth of revenue to pay for roads, bridges, and transit projects that would increase safety, ease congestion,......
Senate Appropriators Fund High Hazard Dam Rehab Program
June 22, 2018
This week, the Senate Committee on Appropriations passed its Fiscal Year 2019 Homeland Security Appropriations bill. The $48.334 billion bill, which is an increase of $611 million compared to the FY18 enacted level, includes $250 million for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Flood Hazard Mapping and Risk Analysis, which is a $12.5 million decrease......
States Wrap Up Legislative Sessions For 2018
June 07, 2018
As state legislatures across the country are wrapping up their sessions for 2018, lawmakers in several states acted this year to make investments to address their states’ infrastructure needs. In Colorado, Governor John Hickenlooper (D) signed a major bill to fund transportation infrastructure projects. The legislation calls for periodic transfers from the state’s general fund......