Links

The following are links to on-line sources of information and news on infrastructure topics. See also the links at the bottom of the Podcasts page on this site, which are specific to the interview topics.

Blogs:

Our Failing Infrastructure
The official blog of the American Society of Civil Engineers Government Relations and Infrastructure Initiatives Division
http://blogs.asce.org/govrel/

The Transportationist
A blog by David Levinson and the Networks, Economics and Urban Systems (NEXUS) Research Group at the University of Minnesota.
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/levin031/transportationist/

Reports: (alphabetized by source)

America 2050
The Need to Invest in America’s Infrastructure
An Infrastructure Vision for 21st Century America is a report by America 2050 that highlights the need to develop a bold and compelling vision for investing in the nation's aging water, energy, and transportation infrastructure in a way that will help America meet the key challenges of the 21st century. The report makes the case that the federal government should provide leadership in aligning its energy, transportation and water infrastructure policies to support environmentally sustainable development, efficient and reliable transportation systems, and sustained, robust economic growth. (November, 2008, 24 pages)
http://www.america2050.org/pdf/AM2050Infra08sm.pdf

American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Rating the Condition of America’s Infrastructure
The 2009 Report Card on America’s Infrastructure is the most current assessment of the nation’s infrastructure by the ASCE, which creates a report approximately every 5 years. It grades the condition of our bridges, dams, roads, rail systems, inland waterways, and 10 more systems. For 2009, the Report Card assigned a cumulative grade of D to the nation’s infrastructure and noted a five-year investment need of $2.2 trillion from all levels of government and the private sector. Since ASCE’s last assessment in 2005 there has been little change in the condition of the nation’s roads, bridges, drinking water systems and other public works, and the cost of improvement has increased by more than half a trillion dollars. (March 2009, 168 pages)
http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/sites/default/files/RC2009_full_report.pdf
Note: summaries of the Report Card’s findings also are viewable at: http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/
Also, this topic was addressed in the first podcast of the series; see Podcasts page.

Brookings Institute
Air Travel Delays Increasingly Common
Expect Delays: an Analysis of Air Travel Trends in the U.S. is a report by the Brookings Institute’s Metropolitan Policy Program, which analyzed commercial air travel patterns at the national and metropolitan levels between 1990 and 2009. Among the findings: half of the country’s flights are routes of less than 500 miles. Congestion-related delays have been worsening over time. Within the 26 domestic hubs, six experienced worse-than-average delays for both arrivals and departures: New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Miami, Atlanta, and San Francisco. (October 2009, 40 pages)
http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/reports/2009/1008_air_travel_tomer_puentes/1008_air_travel_report.pdf

Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)
Mass Transit and Environmental Sustainability
Greening Mass Transit and Metro Regions is a report by The Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Blue-Ribbon Commission on Sustainability on ways the New York region, the MTA and the transit industry can become more environmentally sustainable. It provides recommendations for strategies and technologies that the transit agency and government officials can use to reduce the MTA region’s environmental impact, while generating long-term savings and economic growth. It provides a model for urban and suburban regions nationwise. (January, 2009, 148 pages)
http://www.rpa.org/pdf/MTA_Sustainability_draft_final2.pdf

National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE)
The Cost of Corrosion
Corrosion Costs and Preventive Strategies in the United States is the title of study on the direct costs associated with metallic corrosion in nearly every U.S. industry sector, from infrastructure and transportation to production and manufacturing. Results of the study show that the total annual estimated direct cost of corrosion in the U.S. is a staggering $276 billion—approximately 3.1% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It reveals that, although corrosion management has improved over the past several decades, the U.S. must find more and better ways to encourage, support, and implement optimal corrosion control practices. (July, 2002; link below is to a 12-page summary of the report.)
http://events.nace.org/publicaffairs/images_cocorr/ccsupp.pdf

National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission
Proposed Reform of Transportation Infrastructure Finance
Paying Our Way: A New Framework For Transportation Finance, was prepared by a specially convened Commission of 15 members, created by Congress. It offers a roadmap for sweeping reform of the nation’s transportation infrastructure funding and finance framework. The report offers specific recommendations for increasing investment in transportation infrastructure, while at the same time moving the Federal government away from reliance on motor fuel taxes and toward more direct fees charged to transportation infrastructure users. (February, 2009; 252 pages)
http://financecommission.dot.gov/Documents/NSTIF_Commission_Final_Report_Mar09FNL.pdf

National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission
Recommendations for America’s Surface Transportation System
Transportation for Tomorrow: Report of the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission, was prepared by a specially convened Commission of 12 members, created by Congress. It includes a comprehensive plan to increase investment, expand services, repair infrastructure, demand accountability, and refocus Federal transportation programs, while maintaining a strong Federal role in surface transportation. (January, 2008; link below is to an 8-page summary of the report)
http://www.mtc.ca.gov/news/NSTPRSC/nstprsc_exec_summ.pdf
(The full report can be viewed at http://transportationfortomorrow.org/final_report/)

Rand Corporation
What’s Needed to Modernize Freight Transportation
Modernizing the U.S. Freight-Transportation System for Future Economic Growth, a research brief by the Rand Corporation, describes approaches to modernizing the U.S. freight-transportation system that require whole-system modeling, engagement of all stakeholders, and an understanding of the interdependence between local and national costs and benefits. (June, 2009; 3 pages)
http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/2009/RAND_RB9457-1.pdf

Regional Plan Association
A Plan for New and Upgraded Transit for New York City and Northern New Jersey
Tomorrow's Transit: New Mobility for the Region's Urban Core, a study by the Regional Plan Association, outlines new subway, bus, commuter rail, light rail and ferry projects for the Region's “Urban Core,” which includes the five boroughs of New York City and urban portions of Northern New Jersey. The nearly forty recommendations focus on providing service to underserved and impoverished areas, better connections within the existing transit network and short- and long-term transit solutions with varying price tags. (October, 2008, 53 pages)
http://www.rpa.org/pdf/RPA_tomorrows_transit.pdf

Transportation for America
Maintaining and Expanding the Nation’s Transportation System
The Route to Reform: Blueprint for a 21st Century Federal Transportation Program, is a report by Transportation America, focused on what is needed to modernize America’s transportation system. Recommendations include developing a new national transportation vision, restructuring of federal transportation programs, reform of transportation agencies, and revised transportation finance. (May 2009, 100 pages)
http://t4america.org/docs/blueprint_full.pdf

U.S. Conference of Mayors
Redeveloping Brownfields in the U.S.
Recycling America’s Land, a National Report on Brownfields, by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, addresses an issue that has been a top priority of the Conference of Mayors for 15 years. Brownfields are abandoned or underutilized properties found in almost every city, where redevelopment is complicated by contamination. The report examines the problem, and the goal of redeveloping such land and putting it to productive use. (January, 2008, 51 pages)
http://usmayors.org/76thWinterMeeting/release_012408b_report.pdf

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
Implementing Smart Grid Technologies
Smart Grid: Enabler of the New Energy Economy, a report by the Electricity Advisory Committee of the U.S. DOE, addresses barriers and opportunities to deploying Smart Grid technologies to enhance the nation’s electric power delivery system to meet the challenges of the 21st century. (December, 2008, 38 pages)
http://www.oe.energy.gov/DocumentsandMedia/final-smart-grid-report.pdf

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
How Changing Climate May Impact Water Resources
Climate Change and Water Resources Management: a Federal Perspective, is a report prepared by the USGS, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Climate change may have a large impact on water resources and water resources managers; the purpose of this report is to explore strategies to improve water management by tracking, anticipating, and responding to climate change. (January, 2009; 76 pages)
http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1331/Circ1331.pdf

Miscellaneous: (in alphabetical order)

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
America’s Transportation Awards is a project of AASHTO, the non-profit, non-partisan association that represents transportation departments – air, highways, public transportation, rail, and water – and that works to foster the development, operation, and maintenance of an integrated national transportation system. The transportation projects chosen as finalists in America’s Transportation Awards competition represent the best in innovative management, accountability and timeliness, and contend for the National Grand Prize, determined by an independent judging panel, and the People's Choice Award, selected through on-line voting.
http://www.americastransportationaward.org/
More information on AASHTO and its publications is on its web-site, www.ashto.org.

Infrastructurist
The Infrastructurist, published by the media firm Group SJR out of New York City, is a web site focused on the rebuilding of America's infrastructure. It includes news, observations and interviews about infrastructure, transportation, energy, and the policies that govern them.
http://www.infrastructurist.com/

Northwestern University’s Infrastructure Technology Institute (ITI)
The ITI, of which Professor Joseph Schofer is Director, is a National University Transportation Center, which develops strategies and tools to protect and improve the condition, capacity, and performance of the nation’s highway, railroad, and mass-transit infrastructure systems. This mission is realized through research, education, technology transfer, and policy studies. Structural health monitoring is a special focus of the Institute. The web-site lists current activities, including conferences.
http://www.iti.northwestern.edu/

U.S. Corps of Engineers (USCOE)
The USCOE, a federal agency and major army command, is involved in a wide range of U.S. public works and Department of Defense projects around the world. The Corps’ web-site features a number of short, informative videos on infrastructure topics (most under 5 min.), including North Carolina Dredging, about how that state’s waterways are kept clear for navigation; Flood Control in Arizona, about stabilization activities at the flood control channel in Nogales, AZ; and Driftmaster, about operations to clear New York harbor of drift material. The USCOE web-site also features information on reports and other publications, and USCOE news.
http://www.usace.army.mil/CEPA/Pages/Videos.aspx

Also:

A variety of infrastructure related news items can be found on Facebook and Twitter sites, such as:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=10325597594

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Building-Americas-Future/93937354725

http://twitter.com/urbanlandinst

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Descriptions of photos at top of page, from left to right: bicycle riders in a bike lane in the Chelsea District of New York, NY; Nellis Solar Power Plant, Clark County, NV; towboat and barge on the Chicago River in Chicago, IL; VIA Metropolitan Transport bus in San Antonio, TX.
All photos courtesy of Wikipedia.