Mid Atlantic Real Estate Journal — 2013 Forecast — January 11 - 24, 2013 — 3C
www.marejournal.com
2013 F orecast
e have known for many years that i n f r a s t r u c t u r e By Ted C. Williams, P.E., EngExec, FACEC, Landmark Science & Engineering Will infrastructure spending be used in 2013 to help our economy? W
improvements) on just trans- portation alone will create more than 2.5 million jobs, save another 1.1 million jobs, save over $2 billion in travel time, save each fam- ily $1,050 each year and add over $2,600 per person in the United States to the GDP. A separate study by the Associated General Contrac- tors of America (AGC) found that of the created jobs, ap- proximately one-third would be direct on-site construction jobs, approximately one-
sixth would be indirect jobs for suppliers of materials and services such as engineer- ing, and approximately one- half for induced jobs from the spending of additional income by the direct and indirect jobs. The problem and the ben- efit that is realized from spending on infrastructure were identified in 2011, but we did not see any signifi- cant increase in spending in 2012. With the seating of a new
Congress in 2013 and no major elections this year, we believe that a renewed focus on providing the answers to where the funding will be generated for an increased spending on our infrastruc- ture will be fruitful. Many leaders realize that increas- ing fees, such as highway user fees (gas tax), etc., can be acceptable to the general public when the appropriate information is shared about the problem and the solu- tions. Unlike some government
programs, spending on infra- structure provides for an on- going growth in our economy, which is why we believe that an increase in spending on infrastructure can and will occur in 2013. Ted C. Williams, P.E., EngExec, FACEC, is a principal with Landmark Science & Engineering— an integrated civil engi- neering and environmen- tal sciences consulting firm based in New Castle, Delaware. n
spending in the United States, and, in particu- lar, the mid- Atlantic re- g i o n , ha s been lack- ing, but un- til recently
Ted C. Williams
we didn’t realize the full im- pact of those non-decisions. Spending on infrastructure provides for an ongoing growth in our economy in a myriad of ways. The grading of our in- frastructure, as noted in the most recent American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) “Report Card for America’s Infrastructure,” is alarming, at best: Aviation: Grade D Bridges: Grade C Dams: Grade D Drinking Water: Grade D– As if these low grades are not enough of a justification for upgrading the infrastruc- ture in the United States, note the results of a supple- mental study by ASCE en- titled “Rough Road Ahead” found that a “subpar road system” costs each family in the United States $1,050 per year in additional cost for automobile repairs and other related expenses! Engineering and business groups reported on this in- formation at the end of 2011 when providing justification to our elected state and federal government leaders of the importance of main- taining the infrastructure that supports all aspects of our economy. At that time, we provided information on the direct impact on the economy. The ASCE “Rough Road Ahead” study identified the potential impact of spending $94 billion per year (this is substantially less than the current annual shortfall in spending on infrastructure
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