““Top Hat”/ “Cut and Cap,” these terms used lately regarding the oil spill crisis are bringing engineers to the spotlight.The BP Horizon explosion one month ago has catapulted engineers as the leading news story in trying to cap the well that is releasing approximately one million gallons of oil into the Gulf every day.So far the efforts to cap the well have been unsuccessful, but hopefully there will be a solution soon.Typically, engineers do not “get press” until a disaster strikes.The public is asking, “Why couldn’t the problem have been foreseen?”They ask the same questions of infrastructure.Two years ago, the I-35W bridges in Minnesota collapsed.In 2009, ASCE released the National Infrastructure Report Card with an overall grade of D.In Texas, the overall grade was C-.In Sunday’s paper, the CEO of IBM discussed the need to increase the infrastructure investment in transportation by leveraging technology.This information has been made public that the infrastructure is crumbling, so the question should really be “What are the solutions that we can begin to implement to improve our failing infrastructure?”ASCE National has been conducting Infrastructure Roundtables that discuss potential solutions.Although it may seem that the failing infrastructure is a national problem, it becomes a very personal issue when it affects you.What can we do in Houston?
ASCE Houston is spearheading an event to educate the public on infrastructure and why infrastructure investment is important.The event will occur this fall, with townhall sessions, an education festival for K-12, a candidate meet and greet and a gubernatorial debate.The Infrastructure Townhall is in the planning stage.A committee has been formed and volunteers are needed for education, finance, administration and publicity committees.The townhall sessions will educate the public on different infrastructure topics, such as transportation, water, drainage, energy grid, sustainability and airports and ports.The sessions will have a speaker, moderator and panelists.The public will be able to ask questions, which we will be able to compile for future use.ASCE Houston will be able to use information and solutions from the Infrastructure Roundtables to provide to the public.The educational festival will give the public opportunities to experience hands-on engineering experiments, as well as see “what lies beneath”.We are expecting a huge turnout, so volunteers are needed for planning and the day of the event.If you would like to be a part of this exciting event, please contact infrastructure@ascehouston.org or contact me at president@ascehouston.org for more information.
We had a great meeting in May with Mike Talbott giving an update on the Harris County Flood Control District.Although money is tight, the District is working hard to use their budget wisely.The June meeting will feature Jim Grace from Baker Botts, who will present on Public Private Partnerships.I look forward to seeing you there.
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