Civil Engineers Assess Shaky State of America's Infrastructure
Thursday, Sept. 4, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) will release its ASCE 2003 Progress Report for America's Infrastructure, which assesses the progress or decline since it released the 2001 Report Card for America's Infrastructure. The report examines the trends affecting the nation's infrastructure including drinking water, wastewater, dams, solid waste, hazardous waste, naviagable waterways, roads, bridges, mass transit, aviation, schools and energy.
The meeting will take place at the Rayburn House Building in Washington, D.C. People in attendance will include Thomas L. Jackson, P.E., F.ASCE president of ASCE; Patrick J. Natale, P.E., C.A.E., F.ASCE, executive director of ASCE; U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.), ranking member for the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee; and U.S. Rep. Tom Petri (R-Wisc.), chairman of the Highways, Transit & Pipelines Subcommittee for the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee.
Why Is This Report Necessary?
On Sept. 30, the federal Transportation Equity Act of the 21st Century (TEA-21) will expire, leaving the nation without a coordinated directive for preserving and improving our roads, bridges and transit systems. Also up for federal reauthorization are the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Water Act.
Civil engineers will evaluate the impact of trends such as federal legislation, state and local spending, and other factors on infrastructure, and forecast if progress or decline is expected in the grades.
Source: American Society of Civil Engineers