Engineering Inc. - September/October 2008 - 11

David Oates, chairman of ACEC’s Transportation Committee, delivers testimony on the economic benefits of infrastructure investment. ACEC Advocates Infrastructure Investment at house hearing As part of the effort to promote infrastructure funding to boost economic growth, ACEC was invited to testify at a House committee hearing before the August recess. David Oates, president of Oates Associates and chairman of ACEC’s Transportation Committee, testified before the House Small Business Committee on the economic benefits of transportation and other infrastructure improvement projects. “Additional spending on infrastructure will foster immediate job creation, but it is also important to appreciate the long-term benefits to our national economic competitiveness,” Oates said. “A safe and efficient transportation network is critical to economic growth—it reduces travel time and increases reliability, thus lowering costs and leading to greater economic productivity for businesses and ease of mobility for travelers.” Oates further outlined the implications of continued inadequate funding, including safety risks, worsening congestion, and higher maintenance and repair costs. based process for bridge inspection and repairs. The measure calls for the DOT to establish bridge repair priorities based on safety and serviceability, along with passenger and freight mobility. It also requires states to establish five-year performance plans for the inspection, rehabilitation and replacement of deficient or obsolete bridges. An ACEC-backed provision requiring bridge program managers and team leaders to be state-licensed engineers also is included. The House also adopted an amendment to expand the bill to include new tunnel inspection requirements. In the wake of the I-35 bridge collapse in Minneapolis in August 2007, ACEC members Ray McCabe, HNTB’s senior vice president, and Mark Bernhardt of Burgess & Niple provided congressional testimony on the need for a risk-based approach to bridge inspections and repairs. “I am pleased that Chairman [James] Oberstar heeded the recommendations of the engineering community in this bill,” McCabe said. “This legislation will allocate resources more efficiently, provide for a more consistent rating and review system across all states and promote greater use of advanced technologies and materials.” The prospects for Senate action on the bill this year are uncertain. The bill could be included in the broader SAFETEA-LU reauthorization legislation due for consideration next year. ACEC Calls on senate to Embrace All Energy options to Curb Price rises ACEC urged the Senate to adopt a comprehensive approach to addressing rising energy prices, including expanded production of oil and gas as well as renewable sources. ACEC and a number of business organizations are promoting legislative solutions that use all domestic energy sources instead of choosing among them. “Only a broad-gauge solution will adequately address the problem,” ACEC President Dave Raymond said in a letter to the Senate. In addition to expanding oil, gas, nuclear, coal and renewable energy sources, ACEC also is calling on Congress to focus on energy efficiency and conservation, modernizing the nation’s energy infrastructure, and supporting development and deployment of new technologies and practices. With energy policy becoming a major issue in the upcoming presidential contest, it remains unclear whether Congress will resolve the debate before the end of the year between proponents of oil and gas drilling and those supporting more emphasis on renewable sources and conservation. Raymond stressed the need for both. “No single energy source alone can provide a satisfactory solution for America’s energy needs,” he said, adding that while “we cannot drill, mine or farm our way to energy sufficiency…no combination to the exclusion of others will suffice.” for morE nEWs For weekly legislative news, visit ACEC’s Last Word online at www.acec.org. SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2008 ENGINEERING INC. 11

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Engineering Inc. - September/October 2008

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