
Last week, an elevated bike path in Rio de Janeiro collapsed, killing at least two people. The structure, part of the city’s improvement efforts leading up to the 2016 Summer Olympics, had been open for less than four months. It’s unclear exactly what caused the collapse, but some witnesses say a large wave struck the seaside path, which was supported by concrete pilings. An 80-foot section collapsed and fell about 15 feet onto the rock surface below.
The cause is under investigation and accusations are flying (one resident said on Facebook “It appears that [the path] was struck by a great wave of corruption and neglect”), but the failure of the $12.7 million project has highlighted the high cost—in lives as well as money—of infrastructure breakdowns. While in the US we’re more likely to be concerned with aging or poorly maintained infrastructure than with newly constructed projects, many of us are joining to draw attention to the issues during Infrastructure Week, May 16–23.
At Forester Media, we’re contributing to the discussion by posing a series of questions to industry experts in the different fields our publications cover. This week’s interview is with J. Eric Scherer, CPESC, CPSWQ, CESSWI, of Scherer Consulting Services LLC in Kingston, RI. He was formerly with the Southern Rhode Island Conservation District.
You can see some of the other responses to Forester’s questions leading up to Infrastructure Week 2016, here. We invite you to share your perspectives in the comments section below and to join our Twitter Chat (#InfrastructureMatters) on May 18 from 11 am to 12 pm PDT.
Erosion Control: Which infrastructure projects should be given priority? Roads and bridges? Dams and levees? Water supply? Electrical grid?
Eric Scherer: This is an interesting question, and it’s going to be regionally based. In the Northeast, where I reside, roads and bridges are the critical infrastructure; there is not a Northeast city where this is not a huge issue, and considering that the population centers in this region, the economic impact of not repairing them is huge.
Water supply is a Western issue and critical to both potable water and agricultural use. Flooding in the Midwest and lower Miss is going to be a huge issue. I am less interested in this as we are paying the price for building in floodplains and areas where flooding is and will continue to be an issue. The national reports on the needs to upgrade our electrical grid are constant, but I feel that this is more of a private industry issue versus a public issue, as the electrical grid system is largely a private business, although highly regulated; it’s got to start at that level. We don’t want to move back to more government control in this area.
EC: Is there a solution to long-term infrastructure funding?
ES: I believe that there may be some siphoning off of funds to other uses that were originally targeted for infrastructure updates. I think funding, including taxes and fees that were targeted for updating infrastructure, need to be identified and redirected to those needs. I also think the federal government needs to rethink the federal support program to the states to maintain a functional interstate transportation system that includes bridge and road upgrades.
EC: What kind of harm is the current state of our infrastructure doing to the economy and the community?
ES: It’s evident every day with the breakdown of roads and bridges and the cost to fix them. In addition, the added threat to infrastructure from domestic terrorism is again becoming an important piece of the puzzle that needs to be addressed.
EC: What can various government entities—from local to federal—do to attract private sector support and investment?
ES: I don’t think the local entities have the ability and capacity to address the issues—it comes to who pays for this. If we reduce federal taxes so money stays local, do states and local governments take on the role that the feds have? I think federal guidance, followed by funding, should be strong at the national and state levels, and trickled to the local level.
EC: Thank you, Eric.
Janice Kaspersen
Janice Kaspersen is the former editor of Erosion Control and Stormwater magazines.