"It's not happening," opines Tim Reams, a contractor in Massachusetts. "The rebuilding of America is definitely not happening." Like some in the industry, Reams believes President Obama used infrastructure in a bait-and-switch ploy to pass a stimulus package soaked in social programming. Reams and others lament that instead of The New Deal we got The Great Society. The good news: The nation is more aware than ever of infrastructure's relevance. The bad news: Congress has yet to match rhetoric with enough cash. But awareness alone will not kick-start the nation's rebuilding. The industry needs to widen this once-in-a-century window of opportunity brought about by infrastructure's 15 minutes of fame.

Infrastructure’s window of opportunity deserves a wider opening. Photo/Dan McNichol

"We might be on the verge of an unprecedented period of great works," explains Andrew Herrmann, chairman of the ASCE's Report Card on the nation's infrastructure. Only weeks ago, they assigned a cumulative D-grade to the nation's infrastructure. The possible silver lining is that conditions are so grim they have to be addressed.

"Out of dire need, we may have come to a profound turning point in the United States where we'll begin an era of improvements on a vast scale," Herrmann explains. "A year ago, elected officials didn't even know what infrastructure was, not to mention debate over it. Today, it's a popular buzzword inside the beltway." But he warns that if no action is taken, we'll slide back to the low point of the bridges and roads of the 1970s ... or worse.

The costs of prevention
This May, a routine inspection of a critical Interstate System bridge spanning the Mississippi River prevented what most likely would have been another disaster, had the deterioration gone undiscovered as it did a few hundred miles up the Mississippi River back in August 2007. The I-80 Bridge between Illinois and Iowa was found to have structural failings and life- threatening cracks in its primary supports. Initial estimates for repair of the 43-year-old bridge called for weeks of detours. A week later it was predicted that the bridge would be decommissioned for more than 14 months, which means 11-million-plus vehicle trips on the crossing will be detoured until the summer of 2010. A disaster averted; a weak link in the nation's critical supply chain revealed; but time lost forever.

"With each bridge closing or reduced weight limit imposed, the nation's supply chain weakens," explains Bill Marrin, director of an exclusive supply chain network called Supply Chain 50 that works with the nation's most prosperous corporations to improve productivity. "When an interstate bridge closes, efficiencies are reduced, costs rise, service sinks."

Simply put, the United States is losing its competitive advantage to its well-engineered and well-built competitors: Asia and Europe. To America's right is China, where infrastructure is as understood as it is celebrated. To our left is Europe, or as former Washington Post reporter T.R. Reid writes in his book The United States of Europe, "Like one of those heavy, powerful SUVs that Detroit turns out, the United States has been cruising along at a comfortable speed, completely unaware of the well-engineered European sedan coming up fast in the passing lane. It's time to take a look over our shoulder."

The onus is on us. Our community is duty bound not only to guard the public against structural failures, but to educate at every opportunity. The public requires a better understanding of the costs of its failing bridges and roads, and this new era calls for more than sound bites. The dinner table is a good place to begin; however, the debate needs a sense of urgency to push through the halls of congress, which holds more followers than leaders. "America the beautiful" is depending on you.

Dan McNichol is a highly acclaimed author, journalist, and speaker. He welcomes your comments at dan@danmcnichol.com.