Orange County Branch Newsletter

April 2012

Infrastructure Update

Mobilizing for the Year of Infrastructure (Part II)


Yazdan Emrani, P.E.
Senior Vice President/Principal
Hall & Foreman, Inc.
yemrani@hfinc.com

On February 29, 2012 ASCE Region 9 (California) made history for a second time by unveiling its second State-Wide Infrastructure Report Card.  While there are many states that have not even done a single assessment of their state's infrastructure, we are fortunate enough to live in a state with many enthusiastic and dedicated ASCE professionals that enabled the effort to do an update of our 2006 California Infrastructure Report Card.  The California Infrastructure Report Card effort involved about 100 volunteers from both the Public and The Private sectors who combed through volumes of data, developed reports, recommended public policy positions, and calculated funding needs for eight infrastructure categories over five months and countless number of hours, to get to this day.

For the unveiling of our 2006 California Infrastructure Report Card we had to move our press conference indoors, due to the forecast for rain and cold weather. We were lucky to be able to get one of the Assembly Hearing Rooms as our venue.  This turned out to be a blessing as we had a packed room with people, media, and our line-up of speaking dignitaries which included Greg Diloreto, ASCE National's President-Elect;  Jennifer Epp, Chair & Director, ASCE Region 9; Vitaly Troyan, Former Public Works Director for San Francisco and former City Engineer for Los Angeles, who is currently the Director of Public Works for the City of Oakland.  Our line-up also included Paul McIntosh, Executive Director of California State Association of Counties (CSAC); Rob Lapsley, President, California Business Roundtable, Senator Bob Huff, Senate Republican Leader from Diamond Bar; Senator Anthony Cannella, representing the Central Valley and whom also happens to be a Civil Engineer and owner of a Civil Engineering consulting firm.  Finally, the list of speakers included myself and Mike Kincaid as the two Co-Chairs of the California Infrastructure Report Card. 

This was a diverse group, but whether you listened to ASCE's President-Elect or one of the senators, the message was the same. Infrastructure isn't free and there needs to be sufficient investments made to keep California's economy going and growing.  So, how did California do to warrant sentiments like these?

As can be seen, four categories improved slightly, three categories remained the same and one category, Water, declined.  The overall GPA improved slightly from "C-" to a "C". Still, this is not a report card that one would be proud showing off to others.  The slight improvements in grades could be attributable to existing projects in the "pipeline" as well as an infusion of money from the passage of the 2006 infrastructure ballot initiatives.  Now, don't  get me wrong, those are all good things, but when we look at the $650 B over 10 years need versus the $42 B one time infrastructure bonds, we know we have a long way to go, and we should not ease up on our efforts, just yet.  Consider the fact that we have gone from $370 B needed investment in 2006 to 650 B in six short years. The message is; our infrastructure is deteriorating very rapidly and the days of getting by with minor maintenance are gone.

So what can we do about this?  The California Infrastructure Report Card has outlined several recommendations in the Citizen's Guide.  These include the "Self-Help" model which has been very successful here in Orange County with regards to Measure "M" as well as other counties throughout the Southland.  "Pay As You Go" is another model that we believe its time has come and needs to be applied to more infrastructure elements than just Toll Roads.  If you think about it, there are many businesses around us that charge a premium for delivering a premium service.  For example, UPS, the cable companies, and pest control companies all charge extra if you want to reduce their standard 4-6 hour waiting block to a 1-2 hour window.  It has also become accepted industry practice by most airlines to charge extra for each piece of luggage you want to check in.  And of course we have been well trained to pay the extra bucks if we want to ship anything overnight.

Lastly the term Public Private Partnership or PPP has been thrown around a lot, but under-utilized in my opinion.  PPP or P3s have mostly been discussed in the context of a private entity funding the construction of a public infrastructure upfront in exchange for a grant or a revenue stream from the public entity over a fixed period of time.  There are innovative partnerships and solutions that can be formulated in this area that can save cash strapped cities and counties a lot of upfront monies, as well as time and effort.  Although not a classic application of this concept, "Outsourcing" services to the private sector can certainly fit the bill when it comes to PPP.  There is only so much public sector can do with reduced staff and reduced budgets.  Why not try Outsourcing?  It could save a lot of time and money for your city, county, or special district.

Finally, get to know your infrastructure.  We can't have an infrastructure rehabilitation/renewal strategy if we don't have a road map showing us what those needs are.  Having little or no knowledge about the condition of your infrastructure guarantees its failure in the not so distant future. This is one case that ignorance is definitely not bliss. Look at the big picture.  Know that $65 billion we have identified, really means $325 billion annually there are a lot of infrastructure failures that have to be funded on an emergency basis.  You Know that we can’t afford $65 billion now so we really can't afford to wait and let it become $325 billion annually.

One thing is for certain, we are living on borrowed time when it comes to our infrastructure and if we don't undertake a major and comprehensive rehabilitation soon, we will leave very little infrastructure to our grandchildren.  So how do we move forward?  Well the answer is simple but it does take a bit of a will power to implement.

You see, it all starts and ends with YOU.  As Civil Engineers you can be your own best representatives and cheerleaders to deliver the message of need for infrastructure funding to the general public and politicians. Here is something you can try with your friends, neighbors and family.  Download the California Infrastructure Report Card and give it to your friends and neighbors to read.  Tell them infrastructure is not free and if they enjoy the current reliability of their roads, water, and storm drain systems, then be sure to vote yes anytime there is an infrastructure related bond measure on the ballots.

Also work with your elected officials to ensure any existing infrastructure bond monies are made available for projects and not being put on hold indefinitely.  According to Senator Cannella, Caltrans has $2 B for highway improvements; resource agencies have $4.2 B for waterworks and levy repair projects and there is still $1 B available for housing.  These can translate to a lot of good projects that will stimulate our economy and create jobs.

So, get involved, know the facts about your infrastructure, download a copy of the California Infrastructure Report Card, and get ready to start preaching the gospel of infrastructure renewal to your friends, neighbors, and your family.

For more information, visit www.ascecareportcard.org

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