Engineering Inc - January/February 2018 - 10

part of a proposed $1 trillion infrastructure plan to rebuild America. It focused on expanding private sector funding and promoting
the use of public-private partnerships (P3s).
Congress, however, continues to wait on the White House for
details of the president's initiative. "There are fundamental questions about how we invest in ourselves," says Rich McFarland,
senior vice president at Parsons Corp. While some states and
localities, including the state of West Virginia and the city of Los
Angeles, have recently passed transportation initiatives, federal
funding and oversight remain critical. "Obviously, maintaining
national standards is critical for commerce and the economy.
Interstate highways and many other projects
don't stop at state lines," observes Cathy Connor, senior vice president and director of
federal government affairs at WSP USA. In
addition, many projects are too extensive and
expensive for states or localities to tackle on
their own. "You can't leave everything up to
state and local funding," she says.
Greater state autonomy combined with
President Trump's call for the greater use of
challenge grants also has some concerned that
a clear set of winners and losers might emerge.
Some states have resisted increases in their
gas tax, others divert gas tax revenues into a
general fund and still others lack ballot propositions that might address key transportation
and infrastructure issues. Further complicating
matters, 12 U.S. states still haven't authorized
any form of P3s-while the framework in
states with P3s varies greatly.
A couple of bright spots have emerged. For
example, the administration issued an executive order in August focused on facilitating
more efficient environmental reviews, a longheld industry priority. The stated goal is to
reach unified federal permitting decisions on major infrastructure
projects within a two-year timeframe. "One way to accelerate,
expedite and improve infrastructure and other large projects is to
get rid of the red tape-without eliminating the underlying environmental protections. It's important to have federal agencies conduct simultaneous National Environmental Policy Act environmental reviews rather than the process taking place sequentially,"
Connor argues.
Even if lawmakers in Washington don't agree on the specifics, there's bipartisan agreement that it's an issue that must be
addressed now. Thomas O'Grady, corporate president for HNTB

Corp., says he's optimistic that a breakthrough will occur in the
not too distant future. "The importance of infrastructure to the
economy and the national well-being is clear," he says.
PORTS, AIRPORTS AND
FAA REAUTHORIZATION

Airport terminals, runways and other air and port infrastructure
also require significant improvements. Many U.S. facilities and
terminals require modernization, including the need for more
advanced IT and security systems or just overall expansion to
handle increased demand.
ACEC has steadfastly advocated for increased
funding for the Airport Improvement Program,
and the raising the cap on Passenger Facility
Charges (PFC) collected by airports to finance
infrastructure investments, as well as an expansion of Qualifications-Based Selection rules for
airport projects. The Council last fall succeeded
in lifting the Passenger Facility Charge cap in a
pending Senate appropriations bill.
O'Grady says that we're approaching a critical
juncture where additional funding is desperately
needed to meet air travel demands. "We're not
at the pinch point yet, but it's clear there will
be problems soon if we don't see improvements
to airport infrastructure," he says. This includes
landside roadway access, people-mover systems
and airfield capacity enhancements.
Today's flight control infrastructure doesn't
necessarily take advantage of the latest technologies, says Jay Farrar, principal vice president
and manager of the Washington D.C. office
at Bechtel Corp. The FAA relies on terrestrial
navigation systems-essentially radar technology introduced in the 1950s-instead of satellite
systems. Some of the nation's ports have also
reached geographic constraints and have hit full capacity-or they
are approaching critical levels. Many of them also cannot accommodate post-Panamax ships. "We must focus on how we can
make ports and systems more efficient," he says.
FAA reauthorization-which Congress tackles every four
years-has entered the spotlight. Although Congress has approved
an FAA extension to temporarily fund the agency at previous
budgeting levels through the end of March 2018, a long-term
funding agreement hasn't been reached. The current bill, H.R.
2997 (the 21st Century AIRR Act), aims to fund improvements
but also create a private nonprofit corporation to oversee air traffic

President
Trump released
a proposal to
provide $200
billion in
federal funds
to leverage
additional state,
local and private
sector investment
as part of a
proposed
$1 trillion
infrastructure
plan

"We will eventually hit the point where some type of
action is taken on key issues, including infrastructure.
These issues are too important to ignore. They are vital
to our nation's economic well-being."
CATHY CONNOR | WSP USA

ENGINEERING INC.

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Engineering Inc - January/February 2018