Event
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Its Implications
Tuesday, October 3, 2023
8:15 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
A. James Clark Hall - Zupnik Forum #1101
https://umdcee.wufoo.com/forms/z14w0h5a0bfft2w/
A Roundtable of Heads of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Federal, State, and Private Sector:
Click here to access the program!
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), popularly known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) is bringing about changes to the civil, environmental, and construction engineering industries. Academic departments and programs in civil and environmental engineering, construction engineering, and management have an essential role to play in ensuring the success of the BIL. These programs train and educate the engineers who will be needed to implement BIL-funded projects. We can expect to see academic departments meet the need by developing new programs and curricula that support efficient maintenance policies and decision-making, enabling better infrastructure performance even after the end of the funding period.
The BIL is a historic opportunity to rebuild America’s roads, bridges, and railways; expand access to clean drinking water; ensure that every American has access to high-speed internet; tackle the climate crisis; and advance environmental justice in both rural and urban communities. More than 173,000 miles of highway and major roadway in the U.S. are in poor condition, a figure amounting to 1 out every 5 miles. More than 43,500 bridges need repair, renovation, or replacement. The BIL earmarks more than $400 billion for the repair roads and the bridges, and in so doing supports the creation of jobs and economic opportunity, both regionally and nationally. Similar levels of investment are being applied to the nation’s freight and rail systems, airports and aviation, ports, and waterways. The result will be a safer, more resilient, and more reliable transportation network.
The aim of this roundtable is to facilitate dialogue among heads of civil and environmental engineering, construction engineering, and management programs and representatives of federal and state agencies as well as the private sector on how civil engineering programs can lead, provide the best educational trajectories for new generations of students, and support policymakers and stakeholders as they make the most of a long-awaited opportunity to revitalize our nation’s infrastructure.
Speakers include: • Heads of CEE, including Construction Engineering and Management • Federal, State and Local Government • Private Sector
