TCEP 158: 2021 Infrastructure Report Card — ASCE Texas Section (and How You Can Get Involved‪)‬ The Civil Engineering Podcast

In this episode, I talk with three guests who are all heavily involved in the ASCE Texas 2021 Infrastructure Report Card. They are Patricia Frayre, P.E., founding principal of Frayre Engineering & Consulting, Griselda Gonzales, P.E., Principal Engineer at The Goodman Corporation, and Mark Boyd, Ph.D., PE, the principal engineer at LCA Environmental. They talk about the 2021 Infrastructure Report Card (IRC), understanding the current status of infrastructure, and why advocacy for the Infrastructure Report Card is so important.  They also are a great example of the relationships that you can build by volunteering and getting involved in your community.

Engineering Quotes:















Here Are Some of the Questions I Ask Our Guests:





What is the importance of understanding the current status of infrastructure, not only on a national level, but also at a state level?

What is the Infrastructure Report Card, how do you use it, and what is its importance in advocacy efforts?

Please elaborate on your involvement in parks, both national and state, and your involvement with the state IRC.

What is the makeup of the Texas IRC committee, and how does this year's committee stand out from prior IRC committee efforts in Texas?

How do you think the recent presidential election will impact the Infrastructure Report Card moving forward?

Can you explain why the committee has felt so strongly about the unique challenge in flood risk mitigation that it has insisted the subject matter be named "Flood Risk Mitigation," which is different from other state report cards, and even from Texas' prior name for the category, "Flood Control"?

Why are parks and recreation (Green Spaces) important from a quality of life standpoint?

How is Texas set apart from other states in its electricity, oil and gas, and alternative energy infrastructure?

Which categories appear to be poised to receive the best grade, and the worst grade, on the upcoming Texas report card, and why?



Here Are Some Key Points Discussed in This Episode About the ASCE 2021 Infrastructure Report Card:



It is important to understand the current status of the infrastructure because America’s infrastructure is in dire need of investment and attention to remain competitive in a local, state, national, and global economy. IRC categories like our highways and transport systems, the electric grid, and the water distribution system have either reached the end of their design life, need major repair, or are on the brink of failure. Now is the time to act to renew and modernize the infrastructure. The longer it takes for us to take action, the bigger the gap becomes in the investment and funding that is required to address the infrastructure needs.

The Infrastructure Report Card assesses the capacity, condition, funding, funding need, operation, maintenance, public safety, resilience, and innovation of the infrastructure. Once the report card has been compiled and released, it is used to advocate the infrastructure to the legislators. The Report Card is also used to inform the lawmakers and public about the current conditions of the infrastructure.

There are 55 committee members in the Texas IRC committee, and it needs engineers who understand the issues of their regions, like the climates and populations. This is why the current committee members are based all over Texas. The committee for America’s infrastructure is encouraging all the states to produce report cards in a more user-friendly format this year, and this is what the committee has been working on for several months.

It doesn't matter who the president is — the infrastructure of a country affects everybody. Every president needs to be concerned or aware of the state of infrastructure, and we need to continue to advocate for it.