Next year will be better for St. Louis drivers, thanks to the soon-to-be-completed new Mississippi River Bridge. The bridge will make a difference to congestion, safety, and commuting times. The new bridge will be about a mile north of the existing Poplar Street Bridge.
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THINKPROGRESS
By Alan Pyke
After hovering around $300 billion per year from the middle of President George W. Bush’s tenure through 2010, government spending on building things not related to defense fell by about $60 billion in just a few years. The drop is a result of Republicans blocking President Obama’s efforts to invest in infrastructure that the country needs.
“We really need to revamp our funding allocation process and develop outreach plans to engage more people. We must take advantage of the new technological tools to engage the younger generation, start talking about infrastructure at a younger age, in primary school, so people understand that infrastructure has a lifespan like any other organism. It has to live, it has to deteriorate, and if you don’t maintain it it’s going to die.”
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Bridges: Design and Preservation 2013
Best Practices for Maximizing Funding, Retrofitting and Project Management
The amount of structurally deficient bridges in the U.S. is on the rise. 66,405 as of last count and the pace of repair is slowing as funding runs dry. Combine this with the high profile collapses of the Skagit River Bridge and the I-35W Mississippi River Bridge and it’s clear that innovation is needed now more than ever. The situation is alarming.
By Patrick D. Jones, Executive Director & CEO, International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA)
With state governments and regional agencies leading the way, America might just be entering a renaissance in highway construction, reconstruction, and financing. Over the last year, more than 35 state legislatures have taken up bills to address the transportation funding gap. The trend extends to every part of the country, crossing the line between red and blue states. In the absence of federal policy action, as Kevin Robillard of Politico wrote earlier this year, states are coming up with their own prescriptions to deal with our national transportation woes.
“It’s fundamental: having people come together and raise their voice and speak up is the only way to get something done in Washington. I would urge any advocates of infrastructure to speak up and to send letters to their congressmen, and to join coalitions and never underestimate the impact you can have to get something done.”
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To celebrate its 50th Anniversary, the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is launching the “Engineering for You (E4U)” video contest to highlight how engineering innovations serve human welfare and the needs of society. The main prize is $25,000 and the contest will run from Nov. 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014. Learn More at www.e4uvideocontest.org
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Transportation Issues Daily
The Senate passed its version of a maritime transportation bill (WRDA) last May. The House begins debating its bill (WRRDA) today, so we don’t yet know what the final language will be…But based on the version coming to the House floor for debate, here are five key differences between the two proposals which have financial implications. The first four come courtesy of the Congressional Budget Office, in its Cost Estimate report. The CBO is nonpartisan and produces “independent analyses of budgetary and economic issues to support the Congressional budget process.” The fifth difference is one we’ve written about before, and follow the CBO section.
Worried that there’s not enough charging infrastructure to keep your EV going? PlugShare’s user-updated, interactive map serves a dual purpose: to help drivers plan their trips by locating residential and commercial charging stations, and to help us improve our EV infra by serving as a visual guide to where more stations are needed. A quick glance at the map establishes the Pacific Northwest and the Midwest as EV hotspots, while trips around non-mainland states or rural plains states like Wyoming and Montana would still be best accomplished in an old-fashioned gas-guzzler.
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Joseph E. Shacter discusses the Illinois Department of Transportation’s work to improve rail service both in and around Illinois, as well as the challenges ahead in fostering public awareness of HSR benefits and overcoming cost barriers. Shacter also explains the significance of IDOT’s recently released “220-MPH High-Speed Rail Feasibility Study” that suggests that true high-speed rail could be on the horizon for the Midwest.
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