Support for InfrastructureUSA.org
has been provided by these organizations and individuals:

John Hennessy III,
P.E.

Archive for the ‘Guests on The Infra Blog’ Category

Conversations with infrastructure experts and stakeholders from around the U.S.

Guest on The Infra Blog: Michael Melaniphy, President & CEO, American Public Transportation Association (APTA)

Wednesday, February 24th, 2016
Michael Melaniphy on The Infra Blog

Michael P. Melaniphy is president and chief executive officer of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) and president of the American Public Transportation Foundation. Melaniphy’s entire career has been in public transportation, with more than 30 years of both public and private sector leadership experience.

“As a kid growing up you had a binary choice: you were either a bus kid or you were a car kid. You were one of the two. And you look at today’s environment and it’s a multi-modal environment. We have evolved as a society to understand that now it’s about mobility choices…So as we look at what are the best utilizations of our scarce resources in a community, people are looking at the full assortment of choices, and as we look at the unbelievable growth that’s going to come in the population set of this nation we’ve found that paving our way to a solution is not the best choice.”

View this complete post...

Guest on The Infra Blog: Richard Harnish, Executive Director, Midwest High Speed Rail Association

Monday, February 1st, 2016
Richard Harnish on The Infra Blog

Richard Harnish is the Executive Director of the Midwest High Speed Rail Association (MHSRA), a member-supported non-profit organization advocating for fast, frequent and dependable trains linking the entire Midwest.

Here in Illinois we’ve been seeing a lot more interest in doing true high speed rail and we think we’re close to an important next step there. And I was out in Sacramento two months ago and touched the first car shell for that line. That’s something that most people don’t know: those trains really are under construction, and the stations are under construction. So we’re very close to a major tipping point.

View this complete post...

Guest on The Infra Blog: Jeff Morales, CEO, California High-Speed Rail Authority

Tuesday, January 26th, 2016
Jeff Morales, CEO, California High-Speed Rail Authority

Jeff Morales is the Chief Executive Officer of the California High-Speed Rail Authority and has a distinguished record of experience managing large and complex transportation issues and projects. As the former Director of the California Department of Transportation, Morales managed a $10 billion program and more than 23,000 employees working to build, maintain and operate the largest state transportation system in the U.S.

“California, with the leadership of Governor Brown and the legislature—we’ve taken the position that we’re going to advance this program with or without additional federal support, and we’ve committed to doing that and are doing that, and we’ve got major construction underway in the Central Valley on the first segment.”

View this complete post...

Guest on The Infra Blog: Rod Diridon, Sr., Emeritus Executive Director, Mineta Transportation Institute

Tuesday, December 29th, 2015
Rod Diridon on The Infra Blog

Rod Diridon, Sr., served as executive director of the Mineta Transportation Institute from 1995, four years after the Institute’s creation, until 2014 when he moved to Emeritus status. Mr. Diridon has chaired more than 100 international, national, state and local programs, most related to transit and the environment.

“The minimum gas prices around the world are more than double, sometimes triple, the United States…Now the public in America wants a gas tax increase: the polls show it. The polls show that if the gas tax increase will be used for transportation and infrastructure improvements, then the public supports it sometimes as high as 80%…But the U.S. can’t do it because Congress doesn’t have the courage.”

View this complete post...

Our Future with the FAST Act: Ed Rendell, Former PA Governor & Building America’s Future (BAF) Co-Founder

Monday, December 14th, 2015
Our Future with the FAST Act: Ed Rendell

“I do believe with a new Congress and a new administration, whatever the configuration of that is…I think we have a chance to get a blue-ribbon, six-month commission to propose ways to make significant investments in the American infrastructure. And I think that would lead to doing something like all of the G20 countries have done, and that’s a long-term infrastructure revitalization program…I think with Presidential and Congressional leadership looking at one of the most significant long-range problems facing this country, I think we have a chance to start anew. If we had such a commission I would love to be part of it or chair it, and I would do it as a labor of love.”

View this complete post...

Our Future with the FAST Act: Bud Wright, Executive Director, AASHTO

Thursday, December 10th, 2015
Our Future with the FAST Act: Bud Wright

“I think all of those who have been surface transportation advocates have in fact been heard by the Congress, because they are supportive of this program, but that said, many of those same groups who are advocating for transportation investment have also made the point that what we really need is that sustainable source of revenue for the longer term. And the Congress did not address that issue. They chose to use what revenues do flow into the Highway Trust Fund but are insufficient to support today’s program levels and supplement those with general funds.”

View this complete post...

Our Future with the FAST Act: James Corless, Director, Transportation for America

Wednesday, December 9th, 2015
Our Future with the FAST Act

“…I think unfortunately we’ve come to a point in the U.S. and in Congress that infrastructure writ large is still somewhat a bipartisan issue—and I think this sort of cemented that for at least the next 5 years—but the type of infrastructure is not. So we’d like to see a more performance driven system where you invest in the projects that give you the biggest bang for the buck, and unfortunately I think we’re still going to be stuck in these kinds of 20th century silos for the next 5 years.”

View this complete post...

Guest on The Infra Blog: Radhika Fox, CEO, U.S. Water Alliance

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2015
Radhika Fox, CEO, US Water Alliance

Radhika Fox is the CEO of the U.S. Water Alliance, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to uniting people and policy for water sustainability. Radhika also serves as Director of the Value of Water Coalition, a collaboration of water agencies, business leaders, and national organizations dedicated to educating and inspiring people about how water is essential, invaluable, and needs investment.

“It takes, for example, 2900 gallons of water to make a single pair of blue jeans, or 880 gallons to make one gallon of milk. And so water is in everything that we eat, it’s in everything we wear, it’s in all of our devices. We need clean water in order to have all the goods and services that we have in our lives. So what we’re really doing through the Value of Water Coalition is making that argument to people that water is essential…”

View this complete post...

Guest on The Infra Blog: Andrew Curtis Right, Executive Director, Build America Transportation Investment Center (BATIC)

Wednesday, November 18th, 2015
Andrew Curtis Right, Executive Director, BATIC

Andrew Curtis Right is Counselor to the U.S. Secretary of Transportation and Executive Director of the Build America Transportation Investment Center. The Build America Transportation Investment Center serves as the single point of contact and coordination for states, municipalities and project sponsors looking to utilize federal transportation expertise, apply for federal transportation credit programs and explore ways to access private capital in public private partnerships.

“If you’re going to build a road today you’ve got to bid out the contract, and someone has to pay for it. And in the past the money has typically come from the Highway Trust Fund, or from the federal government, or from state and local taxes, et cetera. Going forward, the issue is a P3 really involves a different layer of procuring and risk sharing, and effectively of financing, where the state or the municipality or the sponsor doesn’t have to pay up front as part of a contract…”

View this complete post...

Guest on The Infra Blog: Philip K. Howard, Founder & Chair, Common Good

Tuesday, October 20th, 2015
Philip K. Howard on The Infra Blog

Philip K. Howard is a well-known leader of government and legal reform in America. In 2002, he formed Common Good, a nonpartisan national coalition dedicated to restoring common sense to America.

“…we’re at one of those points where lots of things have to change in our society, and one of them happens to be the legal infrastructure. You can’t have a democracy where the people you elect actually don’t have the authority that goes along with their responsibility…it’s kind of a form of legal mental illness. It’s bad for everybody. Bad for the environment, bad for costs, bad for everybody.”

View this complete post...

Follow InfraUSA on Twitter Facebook YouTube Flickr

CATEGORIES


Show us your infra! Show us your infra!

Video, stills and tales. Share images of the Infra in your community that demands attention. Post your ideas about national Infra issues. Go ahead. Show Us Your Infra!  Upload and instantly share your message.

Polls Polls

Is the administration moving fast enough on Infra issues? Are Americans prepared to pay more taxes for repairs? Should job creation be the guiding determination? Vote now!

Views

What do the experts think? This is where the nation's public policy organizations, trade associations and think tanks weigh in with analysis on Infra issues. Tell them what you think.  Ask questions.  Share a different view.

Blog

The Infra Blog offers cutting edge perspective on a broad spectrum of Infra topics. Frequent updates and provocative posts highlight hot button topics -- essential ingredients of a national Infra dialogue.


Dear Friends,

 

It is encouraging to finally see clear signs of federal action to support a comprehensive US infrastructure investment plan.

 

Now more than ever, our advocacy is needed to keep stakeholders informed and connected, and to hold politicians to their promises to finally fix our nation’s ailing infrastructure.

 

We have already engaged nearly 280,000 users, and hoping to add many more as interest continues to grow.

 

We require your support in order to rise to this occasion, to make the most of this opportunity. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to InfrastructureUSA.org.

 

Steve Anderson

Managing Director

 

SteveAnderson@InfrastructureUSA.org

917-940-7125

InfrastructureUSA: Citizen Dialogue About Civil Infrastructure