Multi-Billion Dollar Investments Propel Bridge Repair and Replacement Projects Nationwide
Approximately $14.4 billion is spent yearly to repair, rehabilitate or replace bridges in America. However, that yearly amount has increased and will continue to increase because the backlog of critically needed bridge repairs is estimated to be $125 billion. With about 50,000 bridges with very significant issues awaiting attention, an estimated 40% of them can be rehabilitated, but at least 35% will require a complete replacement. Many of the bridges in America were constructed about the same t...
From The Editor: Smart Engineering Requires Thinking Without Constraint
The month of May brings many things I enjoy, including the “Smart Engineering” issue of Informed Infrastructure. Each year when this issue is being prepared, I look up Smart Engineering to see the current definition and find some examples. In general, I think we can settle on “engineering that uses processes and IT tools for innovative and interdisciplinary solutions in products, production and infrastructure.” The reader can add or revise as you feel necessary. Following the C’s So what does...
Executive Corner: Five Key Factors To Perfecting an A/E Exit Strategy
An enormous A/E generation that kicked off their careers in the 1980s and subsequently started firms or became owners in the 1990s and 2000s is plotting its final act. Baby Boomer A/E owners across every discipline are contemplating how to successfully transition their firms for sustainability and survivability. And while some are ready to relinquish and others wish to hold on a few more years, the need to assess exit strategy options has never been more urgent. The Silver Tsunami According to...
Thoughts From Engineers: A Pulse on the Watershed: The Evolution of Smart Water Infrastructure Networks
The speed with which smart networks are colonizing our homes and cities’ infrastructure is proof of the technology’s adaptability to the systems of our lives. We have smart thermostats, digital surveillance systems and other Internet of Things (IoT)-driven devices to detect leaky pipes or deliver status alerts on random household appliances. Smart sensors also are increasingly being used to enhance operations in large, centralized infrastructure such as combined sewer facilities. Strategically l...
Transportation Troubleshooting: Advancing Transportation Delivery in the Digital Age
If consulting engineers and public infrastructure managers took a vote today on whether we should rapidly adopt digital delivery, the tally would be near unanimous in favor. But if we also asked them to define exactly what digital delivery means for their agency and the best ways to use it efficiently, responses would be all over the map. Theory vs. Practice There’s no arguing that digital delivery, in which computerized data replaces traditional paper documents, is an evolutionary leap over t...
Water Works: Bench Strength: Can We Do More To Prepare the Next Generation of Stormwater Professionals?
On the surface, baseball and stormwater management are not intricately linked; but, as dedicated stormwater and water-quality professionals, we may be well served to look to America’s pastime as we work to restore receiving waters. No, I’m not suggesting we’re going to brush back water-quality issues with a “high heater,” but we would be wise to ensure we’re developing young talent to fill our ranks in the future. Most would agree that a critical component of a consistently successful baseball...
Engineering The Future: The Future Starts Now
One of the new catch phrases in our field is “Smart Infrastructure.” My gut response: if this is what we’re doing now, were we building “dumb infrastructure” for decades? But seriously, we’re now looking at designing solutions that have many elements of AI and consider the asset’s lifecycle from the ground up. We’re regularly looking at the “cradle to grave” approach, from planning to design, construction, operations and ultimately decommissioning. As engineers, we look not at disparate element...
From The Editor: A Different Type of Solar Harvesting in the Fields
Driving through rural Starke County, Ind., in various seasons will provide visitors a varied image of this part of the state. In late February, the land is gray and brown, harvested and barren from the last fall and winter; unless, of course, it’s covered in snow. Occasionally there are herds of cattle and goats and perhaps some horses. You can see for a long distance on either side of the road all the way to the tree line in the distance marking the end of one farmer’s field and the beginning o...
Executive Corner: Manage Conflicts of Interest When Selling Your Shares Internally or Externally
The “Executive Corner” column has discussed conflicts of interest in the past, but it’s worth revisiting to remind companies of their fiduciary obligations to minority shareholders, especially considering the recent number of mergers and acquisitions in the architecture, engineering and environmental consulting industry during the last few years. According to government statistics, through the next seven years, 10,000 Americans per day will be retiring—more than 25 million people. As firms explo...
Transportation Troubleshooting: The ‘Four C’s’ of High-Speed Rail Build Support for the Long-Term Vision
Enhancing passenger rail service can improve the lives of millions of Americans by cutting the time they spend commuting, reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and enabling new growth patterns such as transit-oriented development, where rail stations serve as hubs for mixed-use communities of homes and businesses. But the real game-changer will be high-speed intercity passenger rail. A level of service that people in China, Japan, the United Kingdom (UK) and Europe have long had...
Stormwater Interview with Robert Page, P.E., Vice President, HNTB
Santa Barbara County North Branch Jail Expansion
February Issue 2026
