According to the information provided on the website, infrastructure is important for a country to run it smoothly. A well developed and maintained national infrastructure is good for business and normal life within a society. Infrastructure is the physical facility that any economy is dependent on.
ASCE estimates that $2.2 trillion is required to undertake a major upgrade of the nation’s infrastructure. The ASEC believes that the energy infrastructure is especially critical for the economy. The society has recommended the following measures to be taken to improve the situation, namely, the country should generate more power and expand transmission; electricity infrastructure should be expanded; there must be increased investment in power transmission infrastructure; and, finally, uptake of clean energy should be promoted.
For the state of Massachusetts, the key concerns are those connected with bridges, roads, and mass transit. Sustainability is emerging as an important aspect of infrastructure. From my findings, no planning or discussion of infrastructure is complete without consideration of sustainability issues.
ASCE decries the poor state of infrastructure in America today. America owes its prosperity and high standards of living to the continued maintenance and investment that improve the state of the infrastructure. American society makes the following suggestions to enhance the country’s infrastructure:
- The federal leadership in infrastructure is required. Developing the country’s infrastructure requires a strong vision and fearless leadership. In the last 100 years, America has invested heavily in developing infrastructure, especially after the Great Depression. The current development efforts towards developing infrastructure are disorganized and not guided by the national vision. The federal government has not developed a national vision for the infrastructure which shows a lack of leadership.
- America should promote sustainability and resilience. One of the pressing needs the world today is facing is sustainability. The country’s infrastructure needs to promote sustainability as opposed to harming the environment. The infrastructure should meet the following needs, in particular, natural needs, industrial needs, food needs, energy needs, as well as waste management among others. The infrastructure should meet the current as well as future challenges. Investing heavily in infrastructure without attempting to achieve sustainability will jeopardize future generations. The federal government should invest in searching for environmentally friendly building materials to use in improving the infrastructure.
- Developing a plan for each state, and the country as a whole, in general. The ASCE points out that there is an urgent need for a plan of developing infrastructure. The plan should be tailored to meet the needs of each state. The infrastructure needs of New York are different from those of Massachusetts. Thus, the federal plan should capture the shared infrastructure needs of all states and develop a master plan to link up all the states. The plan should take cognizance of the need for rapid economic growth.
- Address the problem of maintenance. One of the best strategies for maintaining infrastructure is undertaking life-cycle analysis. It allows prior planning for all the maintenance needs of an infrastructure project from the very beginning. The failure to carry out life cycle analysis is probably the cause of the current crisis the country’s infrastructure is facing.
- Increased investment in infrastructure. Civil engineers in America believe that the parties tasked with developing and maintaining infrastructure are not investing enough resources in building a superior infrastructure. For that reason, they recommend an increased investment. The government as well as privately held entities have significant stakes in developing roads, rail, and energy infrastructure. Stakeholders should, therefore, spare no effort to raise the required funds for that purpose.
One useful update from the site is that the president is lobbying for more investment in infrastructure which is good news because it helps to understand that massive investment into infrastructure is required.