Aviation | Bridges | Dams | Drinking Water | Energy | Hazardous Waste | Navigable Waterways | Parks and Recreation | Rail | Roads | Schools | Security | Solid Waste | Transit | Wastewater

The national aviation system faces a number of major challenges in the coming years. The old business model for airlines is being replaced by a newer, low-fare, low-cost model. Newer aircraft, some much smaller and some much larger, will soon be operational. In order to meet these challenges, the national aviation infrastructure must find ways to become more flexible, and must ensure that the necessary expenditure of capital to meet the infrastructure need is available.

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) supports the permanent extension and increase of user fees as necessary for continued funding of AIP through the Airport and Airway Trust Fund. All monies collected from these user fees should be deposited in the Airport Trust Fund, and the Airport Trust Fund should be removed from the unified federal budget. Revenue Aligned Budget Authority (RABA), which allows for the allocation of all trust fund revenues, should be established in the airport trust funds. Additionally, Congress must provide continued but separate non-AIP and non-PFC funding for security operations.

Solutions intended to ease the increasing demands on our transportation system and to improve highway conditions, capacity and safety are multifaceted, and do not always mean simply building more roads and bridges. America must change its transportation behavior, increase transportation investment at all levels of government, and make use of the latest technology. Cities and communities should be better planned to reduce dependence on personal vehicles for errands and work commutes, and businesses must encourage more flexible schedules and telecommuting.

Congress must fully re-authorize TEA-21 before it expires again in May 2005. Congress also must use all of the money that accumulates in the Highway Trust Fund to support investment in the nation's surface transportation program and protect the trust fund from abuse by removing it from the unified budget. Congress must provide adequate funding to meet current highway and transit bridge needs, and include enough funding for research and development of civil engineering innovations that offer cost-effective solutions to our transportation needs. Other solutions include private-public partnerships where appropriate, and multi-year capital and operating budgets.

There is still an alarming lack of public support and education about the need for proper maintenance and repair of dams. Unless a dam fails, dam safety is not usually in the public view, although it is an issue that affects the safety of millions of people who could be living and working in the path of a sudden, deadly dam failure.

Specific recommendations supported by ASCE:

New solutions are needed for what amounts to nearly $1 trillion dollars in critical drinking water and wastewater investments over the next two decades. Not meeting the investment needs of the next 20 years risks reversing the public health, environmental and economic gains of the past three decades.

Without a significantly enhanced federal role in providing assistance to drinking water infrastructure, critical investments will not occur. Possible solutions include grants, trust funds, loans and incentives for private investment. The question is not whether the federal government should take more responsibility for drinking water improvements, but how.

The case for federal investment is compelling. Needs are large and unprecedented; in many locations, local sources cannot be expected to meet this challenge alone, and because waters are shared across local and state boundaries, the benefits of federal help will accrue to the entire nation. Clean and safe water is no less a national priority than are national defense, an adequate system of interstate highways, and a safe and efficient aviation system. These latter infrastructure programs enjoy sustainable, long-term federal grant programs; under current policy, water and wastewater infrastructure do not.

Equally compelling is the case for flexibility in the forms of federal investment including grants, loans, and other forms of assistance. Grants will be needed for many communities that simply cannot afford to meet public health, environmental and/or service-level requirements. Loans and credit enhancements may be sufficient for communities with greater economies of scale, wealthier populations and/or fewer assets per capita to replace.

A safe, reliable electrical transmission grid is vital to the security and the economic health of the nation. The U.S. grid can no longer be allowed to operate under weak voluntary reliability guidelines from industry. The nation cannot afford to continue a piecemeal approach to the siting, construction and repair of the national transmission grid.

The American Society of Civil Engineers recommends the following policies:

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) supports the creation of a federal capital budget to create a funding mechanism that would help reduce the constant conflict between short-term and long-term maintenance needs. This would help to increase public awareness of the problems and needs facing this country's physical infrastructure, and would help Congress to focus on specific programs devoted to long-term growth and productivity.

Rail should be an important component in a national transportation infrastructure plan. While maintaining the freight-rail industry's right to operate as profitable businesses, there is a role for public involvement in expanding the rail network in critical areas.

Making appropriate cross-modal investments for a national network is a national planning issue that must be recognized and highlighted. ASCE supports the AASHTO recommendation to develop a national transportation plan. This will result in a cross-modal transportation plan and policy, including investment strategies to support the existing and growing need for investment in both rail freight and rail passenger systems. From a national investment standpoint, a strong argument can be made that a role for public funding exists, as public benefits result.

In addition, ASCE supports the establishment of a federal capital budget to create a mechanism to help reduce the constant conflict between short-term and long-term needs. This conflict often results from a lack of clarity between simply replacing aged and underperforming assets and providing for needed expansion to support future transportation demand--both freight and passenger. The current federal budget process does not differentiate between expenditures for current consumption (asset replacement or renewal to perpetuate the existing level of service) and long-term investment (to add capacity and improve performance in travel time and service frequency). This causes major inefficiencies in the planning, design and construction process for long-term investments. A capital budget system would help to increase public awareness of the needs facing this country's physical infrastructure and help Congress to focus on programs devoted to long-term growth and productivity.

Solutions designed to ease the increasing demands on our transportation system and to improve highway conditions, capacity and safety, are multifaceted and do not always mean simply building more roads and bridges. America must change its transportation behavior, increase transportation investment at all levels of government, and make use of the latest technology. Cities and communities should be better planned to reduce dependence on personal vehicles for errands and work commutes, and businesses must encourage more flexible schedules and telecommuting.

Congress must fully re-authorize TEA-21 at an appropriate level of investment before it expires for a sixth time in May 2005. Congress also must use all of the money collected for the Highway Trust Fund to support investment in the nation's surface transportation program and protect the trust fund from abuse by removing it from the unified budget. Congress must provide adequate funding to meet current highway and transit bridge needs, and include enough funding for research and development of civil engineering innovations that offer cost-effective solutions to our transportation needs. Other solutions include private-public partnerships where appropriate, and multi-year capital and operating budgets.

The first step in addressing the condition of the nation's schools is a realistic and ongoing needs evaluation. While school operations and facilities are primarily state and local concerns, their performance is an issue of national importance. A regular update of the Office of Education Research and Improvement report, Condition of America's Public School Facilities: 1999, would provide a clear view of conditions nationwide.

Efforts to repair, rehabilitate or modernize the nation's schools face many hurdles. The complex relationships between local school districts and state and federal governments are constantly evolving. Coupled with other serious problems faced by the nation's school systems and new academic standards, school infrastructure must compete for both attention and money.

Given that children are our most precious commodity, we should accept nothing less than the best conditions for our schools. ASCE strongly believes that governments at all levels should make primary and secondary education a priority, and should provide the resources to support the necessary infrastructure.

Specifically, ASCE supports the following recommendations:

America must design, build, and operate critical infrastructure by incorporating security as part of an "all hazards" approach. We must increase investment at all levels of government, and then spend that money wisely, leveraging the use of standards and protocols to enable interoperability between and among systems.

Congress must provide adequate funding to meet current infrastructure needs, and must include enough funding for research and development. Public and private partnerships must be forged, and professional and competitive differences must be managed, to ensure collective improvement in the security of the nation's infrastructures.

Solutions that would ease the increasing demands on our transportation system and improve transit conditions, capacity and safety are multifaceted. America must change its transportation behavior, increase transportation investment at all levels of government, and make use of the latest technology. Cities and communities should be better planned to reduce dependence on personal vehicles for errands and work commutes, and businesses must encourage more flexible schedules and telecommuting. If one in ten Americans regularly used transit, U.S. reliance on foreign oil could decline by more than 40%, or nearly the amount of oil imported from Saudi Arabia each year.

Congress must focus its full attention on reauthorizing the nation's surface transportation programs when the chance arises again in early 2005. Congress also must use all of the money that accumulates in the Highway Trust Fund and protect it from abuse by removing it from the unified budget. Congress must provide adequate funding to meet current highway and transit bridge needs, and include enough funding for research and development of civil engineering innovations that offer cost-effective solutions to our transportation needs. Other solutions include private-public partnerships where appropriate, and multi-year capital and operating budgets.

If the nation fails to meet the investment needs of the next 20 years, it risks reversing the public health, environmental, and economic gains of the past three decades.

The case for increased federal investment is compelling. Needs are large and unprecedented; in many locations, local sources cannot be expected to meet this challenge alone and, because waters are shared across local and state boundaries, the benefits of federal help will accrue to the entire nation. Clean and safe water is no less a national priority than are national defense, an adequate system of interstate highways, and a safe and efficient aviation system. Many other highly important infrastructure programs enjoy sustainable, long-term sources of federal backing, often through the use of dedicated trust funds; under current policy, water and wastewater infrastructure do not.