Podcast: The Infrastructure Show

In September 2024, Hurricane Helene played havoc with North Carolina’s highway system, striking the western part of the state which has rarely seen hurricanes. The NC Department of Transportation worked aggressively to protect both physical assets and people during the storm and in restoration efforts after Helene passed. The agency earned several industry awards for

A major role of the U.S. Coast Guard is responding to waterborne disasters. Managing large scale disasters usually calls for multi-agency collaboration based on shared information. In such situations, the Coast Guard relies on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to provide a common operating picture to all collaborators. To learn how the Coast Guard uses GIS

Orange County, California has been treating wastewater and injecting it into its groundwater supply system since 2008. This is the largest indirect – cycled through the aquifer – potable water reuse system in the world. The treated recycled water has properties close to distilled water. To explore this process in detail, we talk with Mehul

Motor fuel taxes have long been the primary source of both federal and state funds for U.S. highways. In recent decades, the sufficiency of fuel taxes has come into question as vehicles have gained in fuel efficiency and electric vehicles have become more common.  As the time nears for the US Congress to re-authorize the

Decades in the making, the Hudson River Tunnel Project is adding two railway tunnels between New Jersey and New York to serve Amtrak and New Jersey Transit riders. These tunnels will increase rail capacity and add critical redundancy to the network. To learn about this project, we’re talking with Thomas Prendergast, CEO of the Gateway

Irving, Texas, a city of about 255,000 people near Dallas, is growing fast, and its water supply and wastewater systems must be upgraded to support rapidly increasing demands. To do this, Irving has created a multi-year, citywide program to maintain and expand its water management systems.  To learn more about this large-scale municipal infrastructure program,

Four dams were removed from the Klamath River in 2023-24 to bring it back to its natural, wild state. These dams provided water and power to the region but blocked spawning salmon, and they were declared economically inefficient by their owner. This was the largest dam removal effort in U.S., leading to the restoration of the river, its environment, and services to Native American communities. To explain the motivations, methods, and outcomes of this project, we talk with Brian Graber, Senior Director of Dam Removal Strategies for American Rivers, a 50-year-old not-for-profit organization which advocates for the health and restoration of U.S. rivers. Brian earned a B.A. in geography from Dartmouth College, and M.S. degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in civil and environmental engineering and in geography.

In 1979, one of two nuclear reactors at the Three Mile Island power plant near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, suffered a partial meltdown. The second reactor was shut down 40 years later for economic reasons. Now, work is underway to restart that second reactor to produce electricity for a single customer, Microsoft. To learn what it takes to restart and ensure the safety of a nuclear power plant, and to explore the role of nuclear energy in a mix of renewable resources, we’ve invited back Dr. Elmer Lewis, professor emeritus of mechanical engineering at Northwestern University. Dr. Lewis is the author of the books “Nuclear Power Reactor Safety” and “Fundamentals of Nuclear Reactor Physics,” and he will soon publish his latest book, “Renewables or Nuclear, Which Should Lead in Curbing Climate Change?

Public-private partnerships (P3s) can be important strategies for financing transportation and other large infrastructure projects. Advancing public infrastructure projects with P3s requires careful analysis of the associated costs and the sharing of risks and rewards.To learn about trends in P3 financing, we speak with Professor Jonathan Gifford of the Schlar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University and Director of the Center for Transportation Public-Private Partnership Policy. Jonathan earned his BS in civil engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and an MS and PhD in civil engineering (transportation) at the University of California, Berkeley

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is the largest public power company in the United States. It also controls flooding, assures navigability and recreation, and protects the environment across seven states on the Tennessee River System. Established in 1933 to combat the depression, TVA is in its ninth decade as a self-sustaining entity.To understand the TVA as an enduring infrastructure project, we talk with Pat Ezzell, senior program manager and resident historian for TVA. Pat has authored a number of articles and two books on TVA history. She also hosts a social media and video series highlighting the TVA region