Is ‘Shovel-Ready’ Ready Enough?

Comment by HRP Guest Blogger Matt Simons, a Masters in Public Administration graduate student at ODU and a student of urban planning.

I definitely agree with David Boyd's article on "shovel-ready." The need to streamline the infrastructure process will hopefully come to fruition through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which includes a major round of infrastructure improvements. My hope is for this act to become an historic moment in our culture with hundreds of vital infrastructure improvements/investment to occur which our nation will hopefully depend upon for decades. Unlike Eisenhower's National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, this Obama Act can lead the nation into a safer, more energy efficient and less environmentally impacting culture of mobility.

This new vision includes a new rail transit infrastructure network to work within existing cities and to encourage interconnectivity between neighboring cities. To many, this seems unrealistic, or un-American. But lessons can be learned from Western Europe and their use of high-speed rail and mass transit. Lessons can also be learned right here in America from the Northeast corridor which extends currently between Norfolk and Boston. It is the busiest passenger rail line in the United States in ridership and service frequency. A rather unknown aspect of this infrastructure is that the line is fully electrified between Washington D.C. and Boston and delivers high-speed trips daily at speeds reaching 150 mph.

This provides a viable alternative to the preferred American method of travel on the interstate highway. With such high speeds along exclusive right-of-ways, this method of mobility proves to be much safer than driving and indeed faster as well. In addition, with many American cities, Hampton Roads included, investing in connected mass transit infrastructure, rail transit can soon be seen as a complete answer to a traveler's route between cites.

This new method of thought is not considered a replacement for the now accustomed means of intercity transportation. But instead this is simply meant to compliment and provide a safe, viable alternative to transportation, particularly for single passenger trips. Many of these projects, both regionally and nationally, have been planned for decades. As we have discovered recently with HRT's vision for the future, many are currently "shovel ready" should the implementation process be streamlined.

Is ‘Shovel-Ready’ Ready Enough?

by David Boyd, dboyd@msa-ps.com 08 Feb 09 Citiwire.net

The recent frenzy surrounding the formulation of an economic stimulus package has injected a new phrase into the American lexicon — “shovel-ready.” The phrase’s current popularity traces back to statements by then-Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama during the presidential campaign, capped off by Obama’s pledge, a month after his election, to launch his economic stimulus plan with a bevy of “shovel-ready” projects.

But assuming Congress soon passes the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, can all its infrastructure projects be truly “shovel-ready” — 100 percent completed plans, requisite environmental review and permitting processes in hand, plus the real estate acquired and prepared for construction? Probably not.

But we’re not without knowledge or capacity — if we use it — to fast-track the projects we need to bolster the economy and start putting people back to work quickly. Indeed, we’ve done it — and quite well — in a number of high-profile recent cases.

In 2005, when Hurricane Katrina knocked out the U.S. Highway bridge that connected Bay St. Louis and Henderson Point, Miss., the state transportation department reacted by issuing its very first “design-build” contract. The demolition of the old bridge and construction of the new 2.1-mile span was completed in 20 months, the project coming in under budget and ahead of schedule. In 2008, this $267 million project received the American Association of State Highway &Transportation Officials “People’s Choice” award.

In August 2007, when the I-35 Mississippi River Bridge collapsed in Minneapolis, taking 13 peoples’ lives, the city and Minnesota Department of Transportation were faced with a monumental task of recovery, debris removal, and the reconstruction of a critical transportation facility that carried over 140,000 vehicles per day. The transportation department moved quickly, however, to select a design-build team of professionals with a track record in bridge design, aesthetics, construction schedule and cost. By pursuing an aggressive accelerated schedule, with early completion incentives for the contractors, construction was completed in just over ten months from its inception.

Last June, spring floods wreaked havoc throughout the Midwest. Rains caused a breach of Lake Delton, in the Wisconsin Dells, one of state’s top tourism destinations. Even as television cameras captured images of several homes being washed away, local and state officials were pledging to restore the lake as soon as possible. Governor Jim Doyle quickly appointed his secretaries of the department of transportation and department of natural resources to work with local officials to design, permit, and construct the necessary repairs. The result: the necessary roadway and dam repairs were completed in under six months. The lake has refilled and will be ready for the 2009 season, restoring the economic vitality to many area businesses — small and large.

While these projects are all just a bit different from each other, there are some lessons that might be applied to projects fast-tracked under the federal economic stimulus package:

First — decisive leadership and clear direction from the top makes a difference. It creates a sense of unity and necessity which can have dramatic effect. By directing agency staff and channeling resources, chief executives convey the message of urgency, creating a mindset that “we’re all on the same side,” overcoming the petty turf wars that can plague any infrastructure project.

Second — the spirit of collaboration and a “must do” attitude that starts at the top can work its way down through the ranks to everyone involved in the process. In the Lake Delton story, this was apparent in design review meetings, where those charged with regulatory review worked side by side with the designers and contractors to make necessary project modifications in “real time.” It was also true on the construction site, where contractors from different firms collaborated with each other and the design staff to make the hundreds of daily decisions needed to expedite the project without sacrificing quality.

The United States has deferred and neglected our way to a staggering infrastructure deficit — $2.2 trillion worth over the next five years according to the American Society of Civil Engineers 2009 Infrastructure Report Card. According to the report, our country’s systems earned a “D” overall.

Yet it’s a bad idea — even in the name of economic stimulus or infrastructure renewal — to neglect environmental concerns by short-circuiting review processes. Instead, we need to find ways to streamline processes to meet accelerated time schedules, select projects with a realistic eye to their need as well as “shovel-ready” status, and then attack design, review and final permitting at all deliberate speed — as if it really matters, because it does.

The stimulus bill should be our generation’s equivalent to FDR’s Works Progress Administration, or to Ike’s National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, with the significant lift they gave our national economy and quality of life in great public buildings, parks, roads and bridges. Why shouldn’t we be as nimble, efficient and collaborative as they were?

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