This is a cross post from my new legal blog, Construction Claims Playbook (www.constructionclaimsplaybook.com).
I hate traffic. Some of the happiest months of my life occurred when I did not own a car and relied on public transportation in Washington, D.C. Most people I know despise traffic but accept it as one of life’s nuisances.
But did you know many of our traffic problems are the result of aging or outdated infrastructure? While many authors have decried the poor state of America’s infrastructure, a recent Economist article paints a picture of how our daily lives are affected:
- Major disasters, including the New Orleans floods and the Minnesota bridge collapse, were the result of deficient infrastructure.
- Americans spend more time commuting than all but two European countries.
- The road fatality rate in America is 60% above the European average.
- America’s trains are sluggish compared to European counterparts: "America’s fastest and most reliable line, the north-eastern corridor’s Acela, averages a sluggish 70 miles per hour between Washington and Boston. The French TGV from Paris to Lyon, by contrast, runs at an average speed of 140mph."
In order to remain a functioning society, America must fix its infrastructure problems. The process of fixing our roads, highways, bridges, trains, airports, levees and sewers will result in new opportunities for a starving construction industry.
But there’s a catch.
Our federal and state governments face the prospect of deficits and budget shortfalls for years to come. We will need new funding mechanisms to support infrastructure construction.
My money is on public-private partnerships as the system that will fund infrastructure development. I will be discussing the use of public-private partnerships to address green infrastructure and building needs in an upcoming free webinar:
Funding Green Cities
Live Webcast May 24, 1 PM ET / 10 AM PT
I hope you can make it.
Photo credit: izahorsky
