Can U.S. infrastructure really be fixed?

After the tragedy in Minneapolis in which the Interstate 35 West bridge collapsed, many of us feel at least a twinge of anxiety when driving over such structures. Barry B. LePatner, author of Structural & Foundation Failures and Broken Buildings, Busted Budgets: How to Fix America's Trillion-Dollar Construction Industry, says structural failures always are the result of one or a combination of four factors: improper design, improper construction, defective materials incorporated into the structure, or design loads being exceeded. Add the passage of time and the fact that proper maintenance budgets often are shortchanged, and you are looking at the next potential disaster.

"Many of America's big bridges were built around the turn of the [20th] century," he points out. "In such instances, patchwork solutions often only exacerbate already existing problems. These structures simply weren't designed to last 100 years or more without major renovations."

The biggest problem, he notes, has nothing to do with engineering--and everything to do with politics. To put it bluntly, politicians do not get votes for refurbishing infrastructure. "If it's not sexy, they're not interested in backing it. For decades, our nation has closed its eyes to reams of engineering analysis and reports that have highlighted the deteriorating nature of our infrastructure and the costs of remediation--costs that increase exponentially as every year passes" he warns. "Every politician has received these reports. Most push them aside for a successor to handle, or are willing to provide only a fraction of the necessary funds requested by their experts."

As a result, the problem has snowballed to staggering proportions. Estimates vary on how much remediation of America's infrastructure is needed, but most experts agree the cost is well into the hundreds of billions. The good news, LePather points out, is that we as a nation now have a chance to redeem our former neglect. "The Minneapolis bridge collapse has been a terrible tragedy, but often out of crisis comes opportunity, This is no exception. This event can act as a springboard for transforming the way we think about, not only our nation's infrastructure. but the nature of the construction industry itself."

So, what needs to happen now to prevent other Minneapolis-caliber disasters from occurring in the future? LePatner offers the following solutions:

Establish a standardized nationwide system for categorizing the remediation needs of America's infrastructure. Right now, reporting is subjective. "We need a nationwide standard for categorizing these remediation needs---at both state and Federal levels--and for training inspection engineers. That way, we can assure uniformity of infrastructure assessments, and serious problems in bridges, tunnels, and highways will be more likely to be reported and dealt with."

Institute a national impetus for increasing the number of engineers and construction experts. The U.S. simply does not have the structural engineers it needs to perform the overwhelming amount of remediation that must be done. "Think of it as a 21st-century version of the 1950s push for science education in the aftermath of Sputnik. We need to tell our young people that construction is an exciting and noble career, and strengthen those areas of our school system accordingly."

Ensure that tax dollars directed toward construction projects are spent wisely. LePatner reports that a meta-survey of the construction industry's productivity analyses recently concluded that up to 50% of all money spent on construction labor is wasted because of late deliveries, poorly coordinated subcontractors, and other circumstances preventing employees from engaging in productive on-site work. These inefficiencies mostly are due to the inherent flaws in our nation's 1.23 trillion dollar construction industry, which LePatner calls "the last mom & pop industry in America."

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The solution, he asserts, involves reforming the way public officials work with contractors. For example, they must:

* Insist on true fixed-price contracts. Standard contracts devised by members of the industry generally are insufficient, as they fail to allocate properly risk among the parties and provide proven loopholes for contractors to make claims for additional costs.

* Retain skilled, experienced on-site construction representatives who can oversee not only quality, but the true cost of the work.

* Ensure that there are milestone dates for substantial completion and partial completion of remediation. Use both incentives and penalties to ensure timeliness.

* Purchase materials in bulk to leverage economies of scale.

"By implementing these suggestions--even partially--our nation can save billions of dollars," he insists. LePatner admits there may be those who criticize his willingness to raise the subject of money at a time when our national focus is on public safety, but he points out that the two are intertwined and inseparable.