Podcast: The Infrastructure Show

History can be a great teacher, particularly so when it comes to infrastructure achievements. During the Bicentennial period of the construction of the Erie Canal, it is appropriate and informative to look back at this groundbreaking infrastructure project. Built between 1817 and 1825, the Erie Canal opened the Midwest to trade and settlement, and by cutting freight rates by 75% overnight, it boosted the commercial power of New York City. It offers lessons about the link between accessibility and economic development, the merits of strategic public investment, as well as the conflicts that can occur in public finance decisions.To remind us of this history, we’re joined by Brad Utter, Senior Historian and Curator at the New York State Museum and author of the 2020 book, Enterprising Waters – the History and Art of New York’s Erie Canal

Beyond the capability to move products, supply chains need storage space for transferring and holding goods en route and while they await shipment to customers. Sufficiency – and efficiency – of logistics real estate, warehouses and distribution centers, are essential attributes of well-run supply chains. How does the logistics real estate sector work? What factors drive the market and assure that customer demands are met?To learn how the space needs of the logistics industry are met, we talk with Christopher Caton, Global Head of Strategy and Analytics with Prologis, which builds and invests in logistics space around the world

It’s the functionality of infrastructure that brings value, and when natural hazards disrupt that functionality, the costs can be high. This is a growing problem for transportation networks, which are being assaulted by wildfires, landslides, and floods with increasing frequency and severity. What does it take to keep a road network flowing when the flood waters rise?To learn about this critical role for the economy and society, we talk with Austin Yates, engineer with the Iowa Department of Transportation, which has had more than its share of flood disruptions in recent years

Big infrastructure projects need big money, and larger projects rely on some kind of borrowing – using other people’s money for a period of time.To learn how infrastructure projects are financed through borrowing, we talk with Scott Trommer, Senior Director, Advisory Services US at WSP USA, a professional services firm specializing in, among other things, infrastructure and transportation

Electric power operates our homes and businesses, and it promises to be the future of mobility, as well. There is a constant need to match temporal and spatial variations in supply and demand for electricity across regions of the country. This need grows as we increase the share of electricity coming from renewable sources, particularly wind and solar, which are time-dependent. We rely on the electric grid to move electric power from sources to need centers.To learn how the grid works, and how it might be improved, we talk with James McCalley, who is London Professor in Electrical Engineering at Iowa State University

The health risks posed by lead water service lines are well known. Just how common is this invisible hazard in our potable water? What can we do to address it? To explore the problem, responses to it, and the costs, we talk with Steve Via, Director of Federal Relations for the American Water Works Association

Building or replacing highway bridges quickly can save traffic delays by cutting on-site construction time. What are the design and construction strategies that make this possible?To answer this question we talk about Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC) with Professor Atorod Azizinamini, who leads Florida International University’s USDOT-funded Accelerated Bridge Construction University Transportation Center

On January 1, 2021, a new life began for the century-old James A. Farley Post Office in Manhattan when it became the home of the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Train Hall serving Amtrak and Long Island Railroad passengers. Preserving the Beaux-Arts exterior of the McKim, Mead & White post office, architects created a 21st century interior space bridging New York’s design history and its future.To learn about the significance and the unique challenges of this complex, adaptive reuse project, we talk with Marla Gayle, Managing Director, Global Transportation Practice and Global Adaptive Reuse Practice with Skidmore Owings and Merrill’s New York Office

A national perspective on the condition and performance of our infrastructure is important for informing the dialog about investing in this system that is so important for supporting our society and economy. Every four years the American Society of Civil Engineers works with its volunteer members to produce a comprehensive report card on the state of the U.S. infrastructure.To give us our 2021 infrastructure grade, we’re talking with Emily Feenstra, ASCE’s Managing Director – Government Relations and Infrastructure Initiatives

City streets do much more than just move traffic. They connect to our homes and businesses, supporting not just motor vehicles but pedestrian and bicycle traffic as well, and serving in the way of the ancient forum by proving spaces to shop, mingle, and play. Many large cities are diversifying the use of their streets by reconfiguring them to accommodate this multiplicity of functions safely.To learn about some of these initiatives, we talk with Jamie Parks, who is Livable Street Director with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency