Viewpoints

Title	Description
America’s water infrastructure: today’s action item or tomorrow’s tragedy? It’s our call. Rob Vining, National Director Water Resources Practice	When Hurricane Katrina struck, I wondered if it might be the wake-up call our country needed to address its crumbling levee system. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. The alarm went off, and America hit the snooze button....	Download PDF
Driving to replace the gas tax Jim Barbaresso, Director Intelligent Transportation Systems	There is a perfect storm brewing in surface transportation. Our infrastructure is eroding at an alarming rate, and the revenue to replace it isn’t keeping pace. Highways alone will require nearly $5 trillion...	Download PDF
Make transportation a priority Paul Yarossi, President HNTB Holdings Ltd	It is often said that one of America’s greatest strengths is finding the will to come together and take action when faced with a national crisis. We face such a time now. The challenge is all around us in our aging...	Download PDF
Trains and the city Peter Gertler, Chair High-Speed Rail Services	One exciting ripple effect of President Barack Obama’s commitment to high-speed rail, which he demonstrated with an $8 billion pledge in federal stimulus money in 2009, is the promise of economic development in the...	Download PDF
THINK: Infrastructure forum transcript - May 2011	THINK: Infrastructure forum was held on May 4, 2011 at The Yale Club of New York City.This edited transcript and Q&A captures highlights from the two-hour discussion. THINK: Infrastructure forums focus on major...	Download PDF
America needs to remain bullish on high-speed rail Peter Gertler, Chair Rail and Transit Services	As a nation, we have lost sight of why we need high-speed rail. We are viewing high-speed rail as an isolated, discreet and expensive product when we should be looking at it as a critical element of a balanced,...	Download PDF
Rebuilding America's infrastructure: let's be clear Paul Yarossi, President HNTB Holdings Ltd	The state of our U.S. infrastructure is dire. The results of failing to invest in our outdated transportation network and maintain a state of good repair are threatening our resilience, our security, our economic...	Download PDF
States should be allowed to toll 'Corridors of the Future' Pete Rahn, Leader National Transportation Practice	U.S. DOT’s initiative to relieve network congestion is no solution without funding In 2007, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced a groundbreaking plan to highlight the need to reconstruct and expand six critical interstates. Designated “Corridors of the Future,” Interstates 5, 10, 15, 69...	Download PDF
Time's up! We can no longer continue to underinvest in our transportation infrastructure. Pete Rahn, Leader National Transportation Practice	Our nation has allowed its transportation system to fall so far into disrepair that it is no longer a celebrated asset. It is a national liability. This past October, a bipartisan panel of experts co-chaired by...	Download PDF
Viewing roads as public utilities could solve funding impasse Pete Rahn, Leader National Transportation Practice	Independent rate commissions would take politics out of transportation funding. Simply changing how we think of surface transportation could be the first step in a giant leap toward solving the nationwide funding crisis. Instead of seeing our roads, bridges and tunnels as a build-it-once-and-...	Download PDF