In 2006, the four PA ASCE Sections (Central PA, Lehigh Valley, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh) prepared the first PA Report Card for Infrastructure, which examined the condition of Pennsylvania's infrastructure and provided recommendations regarding improving future performance. The Report Card was revised in 2010 & 2014 (http://www.pareportcard.org/) and, based on a desired 4-year cycle, will be revised again in 2018. ASCE National recently released its 2017 Infrastructure Report Card (http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/). One of the main purposes of the Report Cards is to educate both the general public and our elected officials about the state of our infrastructure, a task we are already faced with as stewards of our Nation’s infrastructure.
The time has come for us to start working on the 2018 Report Card for Pennsylvania's Infrastructure. Our target release date is May 2018, possibly to coincide with a legislative day at the Capitol to share our hard work.
I have stepped up to Chair the committee for the 2018 Report Card for Pennsylvania's Infrastructure. We need volunteers to make the 2018 Report Card happen. The Report Card process is primarily a result of volunteer efforts. In fact, the 2014 PA Report Card was highly praised by ASCE National and became a model for other States. We would like, for the most part, to mirror the ASCE National Infrastructure Report Card, which included 16 target areas: Dams, Drinking Water, Hazardous Waste, Levees, Solid Waste, Waste Water, Aviation, Bridges, Inland Waterways, Ports, Rail, Roads, Transit, Parks and Recreation, Schools and Energy. The 2018 Report Card could potentially reach to 18 categories by splitting Rail between Freight & Passenger as well as the addition of Aviation.
We will be using the methodology established by ASCE for the National Report Card & used in PA in 2014. There is an ASCE State Report Card Guide Book to give us an idea about the scope or work required to complete the Report Card. ASCE Headquarters also has an excellent group of resources who are standing by to help us.
Ann Tomalavage of the Philadelphia Section led the charge in 2014. She has kindly shared her experience with me, and has volunteered to serve as Vice Chair/Technical Lead. I’d like to follow the organizational structure of having a Champion for each of the Report Card categories. One of the first things we will do as a team will be to decide on our topics. The champions will then each be responsible for finding volunteers for their respective topics, who can help with the research and analysis. There is a long list of past Report Card volunteers who may be interested in helping out again. Each individual ASCE Section, as well as the PA State Council itself, will also be working to fill teams for each category. The champions and I will hold regular conference calls on status and problem-solving. The champions will be responsible for communications within their respective teams and for reporting during our champions’ conference calls.
I’m calling on you to step-up with me to be either a Champion or a subject area volunteer. Ideally, the Champions should be ASCE Members in good standing who are active in one of the PA ASCE Sections with an interest in their respective target area. The anticipated time commitment for champions is about 4 to 8 hours per month. The subject area volunteers will work with these champions to complete the necessary work within each target area. These volunteers would not have to be ASCE members and the time commitment could vary based on their availability. We would like to see involvement by students and Younger Members. My goal is to have participation in each of the topics from each of the Sections, whether as champions or subject area volunteers. This is why I need your help! Over fifty volunteers worked to simply create the 2014 Report Card. That doesn’t include the dozens of volunteers associated with the release and outreach. I’d like to hold a kick-off meeting with the champions in late September/early October in the Harrisburg area. Tentative date for this meeting is Saturday, September 30th. More information on the kick-off meeting will be available soon.
I have created a short SurveyMonkey survey for all volunteers interested in helping with the Report Card in some fashion. Please take a minute to complete the following survey, which will help track our volunteer pool.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VHRYNCY
Please do not hesitate to reach out to me (Jason Bowes) at jbowes@gpinet.com or 570-703-0458 for more information or with any questions.
Thank you for your time, commitment to ASCE and consideration on this important initiative.
I hope that you will join us!
Sincerely,
Jason D. Bowes, P.E.
Past President, Central PA Section
Government Relations Chair, Central PA Section
