In the USA, many water infrastructure upgrades are going to be needed in the next couple of decades. There is a growing concern, however, that with many laborers in this field set to retire soon, there may not be enough people to do the jobs. Brookings Metropolitan Policy Programme, based in Washington D.C., has recently been thinking through this problem and has held a conference in hopes … [Read more...]
Integrating Climate Change into Road Asset Management
The technical report "Integrating Climate Change into Road Asset Management" is a climate adaptation resource that we recommend your reading. CLICK on the image to see the full report. Prepared by Theuns Henning, Susan Tighe, and Ian Greenwood, with the overall direction of Christopher R. Bennet, this technical report provides governments, road authorities, and development partners with … [Read more...]
Infrastructure Asset Management Impacts of the Electronic Vehicle Disruption
Tony Seba has published an updated lecture: The Electric Vehicle Disruption - End of Oil 2030 Having attended a lecture by Tony Seba two years ago, I have found his analysis coherent, well-researched, and well worth taking note of. If you are involved in transportation infrastructure management, or you own an internal combustion engine vehicle, then this presentation is well worth your … [Read more...]
Fitting the Great Lakes Region Roads with Green Stormwater Infrastructure
Map of the Great Lakes Basin In the Great Lakes regions of both the USA and Canada, infrastructure managers are considering how they could use road runoff by creating a green Stormwater infrastructure to handle the excess water that is often rapidly channeled to nearby ponds, rivers, or lakes. Often, if the water runs into these natural water sources untreated, it can become a source of … [Read more...]
Will I Buy a Tesla Model 3 and Why Does It Matter to Infrastructure Asset Management?
A few days ago the American electric car maker Tesla announced details of its Model 3 car, priced from USD $35,000. The Model 3 will also be available in some more countries, including New Zealand where I live. Seating 5 adults, and with a range of 215 miles (346 km) per charge the Model 3 is potentially a breakthrough vehicle for electric vehicles (EV's) The projected release of the Tesla … [Read more...]
America’s Crumbling Infrastructure Inspires Finnish Video Game INFRA
When you think of first-person video games, you usually imagine soldiers, guns, aliens, and general violence, right? Not so for a Finnish video game developer who has designed a game focused on puzzle-solving and repairing dilapidated infrastructure whilst avoiding disasters like falling bridges and burst pipes. City Lab reports: "It was actually America’s dangerously outdated roads … [Read more...]
Is it Time to Stop Growing Cotton in the Arizona Desert?
Cotton field near Apache Arizona In the middle of the dry, Sonoran Desert of Arizona, the Wuertz family (and several others) have been farming cotton for generations. This was once considered an exciting accomplishment, but now it weighs on their consciences, as this now unneeded crop siphons so much of Arizona's limited water supply. The farmers understand that they could plant … [Read more...]
Disaster Preparedness – How Infrastructure Asset Management Planning Helps
On 25 May 2015, for several days, Texas was hit hard by severe storms, flooding, and tornado warnings. Governor Greg Abbott declared a state of disaster in 24 counties in addition to 13 counties that were mobilized earlier. Based on forecasts, the weather was only expected to worsen throughout the week, which may cause the Governor to add more counties to the disaster list. Unfortunately, … [Read more...]
Dr Natalie Jackson, Population, Demography and Change
In April 2015, Dr. Natalie Jackson, New Zealand's preeminent research demographer, gave a presentation hosted at the Waugh Infrastructure Management offices in Timaru to an audience of New Zealand local government transportation and water utility engineers and Waugh Infrastructure Management staff. The presentation provided an update from the previous February 2013 presentations on … [Read more...]
Infrastructure Asset Management Challenges Confronting Jackson Mississippi
State Capitol Jackson Mississippi Lemuel, thanks for your comments on this post. You raise a lot of interesting points. From an infrastructure asset management point of view, there are two parts to the question about how to go forward - first, developing long-term expenditure requirements for the infrastructure, and second, developing a plan to fund that expenditure. As you observed … [Read more...]
International Conference on Managing Pavement Assets, Washington DC, May 18-21
Washington DC - I-66 at US 50 Inframanage.com contributors Dr. Theuns Henning and Ross Waugh attended the IMPCA9 Conference in Washington DC on 18-21 May 2015. IMPCA9 is a major international conference on the management of pavement assets. Conference topics of discussion will include: The “next generation” of pavement management systems;Sustainable design, construction, … [Read more...]
Will Mayor’s Declaration of Infrastructure Emergency Solve Jackson Mississippi’s Funding Issue?
City workers working overtime to patch the crumbling water system at Jackson, Mississippi On March 27 Tony Yarber, Mayor of Jackson, Mississippi declared an infrastructure emergency, which expired after seven days. Soon after, Mayor Yarber signed a second emergency declaration declaring a 30-day emergency. This second declaration has yet to be approved by the City Council, who are … [Read more...]