Engineering The Future: Build a Workforce Pipeline That Doesn’t Leak
As our nation works to improve aging and crumbling infrastructure, assembling and retaining the workforce needed to achieve those goals remains a major challenge. Never in my lifetime has the need for civil engineers and all the trades that support them been greater. In the last decade, we’ve witnessed flat enrollments in civil engineering schools for tech associate’s and bachelor’s degrees as well as in the construction trades. That’s further complicated by the fact that the largest cohort in m...
From The Editor: Engineering Musings from a Trip to Canada
First, let me disclose that Bentley Systems is an advertiser for Informed Infrastructure, but I would write about their event even if they weren’t. During the first week of October 2024, I was fortunate enough to attend the Bentley Year In Infrastructure Going Digital Awards event in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. I have been retired for a few years and haven’t attended any major engineering events since then. Maybe all conferences have raised the level of professionalism in the last few...
Transportation Troubleshooting: Where Will Intelligent Transportation Systems Take Us Next?
We’ve all been there. You’re driving along a familiar road when the dreaded solid red line suddenly appears on your navigation screen, too late to seek an alternate route. You now have no choice but to wait while emergency crews clear the fender bender causing the backup. Now, imagine a scenario in the near future where collisions are a rare occurrence. We’re on our way there, thanks to investments in transportation technologies and advances in vehicles of all types—cars, buses, trucks—all driv...
Thoughts From Engineers: Protecting Source Water Through Watershed Planning
During a road trip through the Catskill Mountains of New York state during the summer, we stopped at one of 19 heavily monitored and secure reservoirs. The Downsville Reservoir is in a heavily wooded area on the East Branch of the Delaware River and drains a watershed 370 square miles in size before sending water down a 26-mile-long tunnel to aqueducts further downstream and then, eventually, to the millions of residents of New York City (NYC). When it comes to source-water protection, the NYC...
Executive Corner: Ownership Transition Planning: Begin at the End
The oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett, once said, “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” I’m often reminded of this quote when I think about ownership planning and the critical elements of a successful transition. It’s vital to approach ownership planning by starting with the end in mind. While ownership transition often is perceived as a straightforward matter of transferring assets and control, it actually requires a much broader spectrum of goal...
Code Update: ASTM Introduces Two New Standards for Precast Concrete
ASTM committees have been hard at work providing new standards and improving existing standards for precast concrete products that are in high demand in the industry. Committee C13 on Concrete Pipe recently released a new standard for precast reinforced concrete end sections, and Committee C27 on Precast Concrete Products recently made significant improvements to its standard for precast concrete septic tanks. Each of these standards serve to improve product quality and consumer confidence as we...
Infrastructure Outlook: The Future of New York Public Transit Hinges on Accessibility Upgrades
Navigating New York City’s public transit system can be a daunting challenge for anyone. Narrow staircases, crowded platforms, tight squeezes, scarce seating, confusing signage, train delays, bus delays—all of it exhausts even the most intrepid commuters. For the 13 percent of New York City residents who live with a disability, getting from point A to point B in the five boroughs isn’t merely tiring; it’s often a nonstarter. Stations lacking an elevator or ramp are no-go zones for wheelchair us...
Change Leader: Opportunities In U.S. Infrastructure: Funding the Massive Capital Gap
Americans who believed we solved our infrastructure problems with the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law are in for a rude awakening. The fact that Congress is being asked for billions to rebuild the collapsed bridge in Baltimore makes it clear that this downpayment makes only a small dent in the impending safety and logistics crisis facing the United States. With trillions of dollars of repairs and upgrades needed to address critical project demands and governments at every level gasping for...
Future Forward: Four Proven Steps to Future-Proofing Buildings
As we witness a surge in urbanization and grapple with the impacts of climate change, the vulnerability of our current infrastructure has become increasingly evident, underscoring the critical need to engineer structures that endure through time. Today’s buildings reflect an opportunity to prioritize lasting design and engineering strategies that embrace resilience and longevity. To achieve building longevity, engineers and architects should adopt a holistic approach that combines sustainabilit...
Engineering The Future: Where Have All the Workers Gone?
Infrastructure is at an inflection point. Never have we needed it more, as you can’t support a healthy economy on a crumbling infrastructure. At the same time, we have an incredible workforce shortage across the entire spectrum—from bus drivers and mechanics to planners, engineers, designers and environmental scientists; from contractor labor all the way through company and agency leadership. The construction sector is roughly 10 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) and with a la...
Stormwater Interview with Robert Page, P.E., Vice President, HNTB
Santa Barbara County North Branch Jail Expansion
February Issue 2026
