SOS for Continued Investment in America

BJ Engineers Week Editorial February 2, 2009

Sustaining Obama’s Stimulus (S.O.S) infrastructure investments will present greater challenges than getting the initial economic stimulus program underway.

The time has come to wake up Washington, our State Capitals and all of America, with an S.O. S. to create a vision for economic prosperity through prudent infrastructure investments. The vision must include green space, sprawl abatement, congestion management, improved transit, high-speed inter-city trains, and safe bridges.

We have the opportunity to become the “Legacy Generation” that set America on a path of long-term economic prosperity through a vision of well thought out investments in the built environment. Our country’s most important investments were made possible through vision and sacrifice of previous generations. Many of those investments, while monumental in their day, are well beyond their useful and safe life. If stimulus stops with simply maintaining what we have, America will ultimately lose the competitive edge we have worked so hard to maintain over two centuries of investment.

Our elected officials must develop and fully fund a vision that goes beyond maintenance and enhances America’s competitive greatness, as new canals, railroads and interstate highways always have. In tribute to the “Greatest Generation” we, too, should take action and face our times’ greatest challenges. While the costs will be high, the outcome will be, as we know from their triumphs, well worth it.

Edward M. D’Alba, PE
President
Urban Engineers, Inc.