January 17, 2023 CSCE Monthly Dinner Meeting

Attendees may earn 1 New York State Professional 
Development Hour (NYS PDH) at this Event.

Please join CSCE at our January 17 dinner meeting at the University of Hartford for a presentation on the 2022 Report Card on Connecticut’s Infrastructure, which was released by CSCE earlier this fall on September 27, 2022.  Details on the condition of Connecticut’s infrastructure will be presented by Report Card authors Christopher Fagan, P.E., Timothy Cruse, P.E., Steve Logan, P.E., Aaron Foster, P.E., Jose Infante Corona, Ph.D., P.E., and Amy Sowitcky, P.E. Invited guest, State Representative and Transportation Committee Chair Roland Lemar (96th District), is scheduled to provide remarks on the State’s transportation systems. The meeting co-sponsors are the CSCE Legislative Affairs Committee and the ASCE Student Chapter at University of Hartford. Attendees may earn 1 NYS PDH at this event.

The people of Connecticut are concerned about the State’s economy. Residents and elected leaders seek a business-friendly environment and improvements to their quality of life. Infrastructure is vital for our society’s economic health – a cornerstone that is especially important to a densely populated state such as Connecticut. Infrastructure includes surface transportation networks such as bridges, streets for motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians, and railroads carrying freight and passengers. Infrastructure also includes water systems: sourcing, treating, and sending clean water to the tap, plus wastewater collection and treatment facilities. Infrastructure is the backbone of our modern communities. Investments in our physical capital lead to increased opportunities for economic prosperity and help improve the quality of life for residents.

The Connecticut Society of Civil Engineers, in conjunction with the American Society of Civil Engineers, has evaluated five infrastructure networks important to the State of Connecticut – roads, bridges, rail transportation, drinking water systems, and wastewater systems. Grades ranged from a D+ for roads to a B for rail, with an overall grade of C. Three out of five categories – bridges, drinking water, and wastewater showed incremental improvement in their grades over the last four years since the first Connecticut Infrastructure Report Card was issued in 2018 – and no categories had their grades go down. The age of our infrastructure is a challenge across the categories. Connecticut has some of the oldest infrastructure in the country, much of it over 50 years old and beyond its intended life. While some conditional improvements have been made in recent years, there remains a significant long-term funding gap between predicted funding and needed capital improvements. This gap puts any progress at risk.

The recent passage of the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) is expected to provide Connecticut with over $5 billion in infrastructure funding over the next five years, which will help address some of the age, capacity, and condition challenges. Inflation levels at 40-year highs and Connecticut’s gas tax suspension through November 30, 2022 present additional headwinds. Capital improvement projects out for bid today are coming in significantly higher and gas tax receipts have been reduced. Connecticut’s civil engineers are working hard to do more with recent public investment. But it remains vital that Connecticut’s leaders back a bold vision for our infrastructure to foster opportunities that improve our economy and increase prosperity for residents.

The 2022 Connecticut Infrastructure Report Card looks at the five categories of infrastructure in the State, highlighting concerns and challenges while offering several proposed solutions. Click on the following link to read the 2022 Connecticut Infrastructure Report Card Executive Summary.