America has come to a crossroads—but are its gates and signal lights in working order? Maybe not. The state of the nation's highways, bridges, airports, dams, seaports, and tunnels collectively rate a grade of D+, says the American Society of Civil Engineers, which has called for a $3.6 trillion infrastructure upgrade by 2020.

To address this dire situation, Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter organized a two-day conference titled "America on the Move: Transportation and Infrastructure for the 21st Century," held at HBS in February. To help spur action on this critical component of US business and competitiveness, Kanter convened some 150 leaders from the private sector, government, labor associations, and civic advocacy groups. The impact of this national summit on its participants was perhaps best described by Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), who declared midway through the event that "the most important conversation in the country during the last 24 hours has been right here." Snapshots from the conference follow.

---

Problem: Air Traffic

US airport congestion ranks with the world's worst, with more than 25 percent of flights arriving more than 15 minutes late, says advocacy group Building America's Future. A big culprit is the system's 1950s-era radar technology, which forces planes to fly 50 nautical miles apart and only on predetermined routes.

Step Forward: Satellite Tracking

Delta Air Lines CEO Richard Anderson, citing air traffic control systems as "one of our biggest constraints," urged more investment in satellite-based GPS. Former FAA administrator Jane Garvey said the agency's $40 billion GPS revamp is making strides but is "very dependent on the budgeting process."

---

Problem: Road Traffic

Road congestion costs $5.5 billion in lost work time and increased fuel costs, according to a 2011 Texas Transportation Institute study. And that's not just rush-hour mobs. A 2006 study of New York City and Los Angeles estimated that up to one-third of the traffic in those cities consisted of drivers searching for parking.

Step Forward: Connecting Cars

Verizon chairman and CEO Lowell McAdam said his company is connecting cars to infrastructure. At sports stadiums, for example, Verizon plans to put special chips into parking structures to alert drivers to an open spot. Daniela Rus of MIT's Artificial Intelligence Lab envisioned a day when parking will be unnecessary, thanks to a combination of "data-driven decision-making with autonomous driving, to deliver mobility on demand." Meanwhile, gas taxes, peak-use fees, and public transportation can free up roads. "There's beauty in the bus," noted Harvard professor Edward Glaeser.

---

Problem: Antiquated Passenger Rail

While the US freight rail system is among the best in the world, passenger service ranks 17th globally in annual passenger-miles of service. A 2013 commuter train crash in Connecticut revealed that 700,000 people a day were traveling a system with 110-year-old overhead wiring.

Step Forward: Incremental Improvement

In 2000, Amtrak and the Penn­sylvania Department of Trans-portation resolved to make the Pittsburgh-Philadelphia train route "auto-competitive" by 2015. That goal is within reach, thanks to modest steps such as replacing 85 miles of wooden ties with modern track, upgrading 38 bridges, and overhauling a century-old electric power system, all for less than $150 million.

---

Problem: Fixing Infrastructure

Infrastructure investment amounts to 2.4 percent of GDP in the United States, 5 percent of GDP in the average EU country, and 9 percent in China. "We are coasting on the past," said AFL-CIO president Rich Trumka. Trillions of dollars are needed, but proposed revenue and tax increases are often political nonstarters, and red tape adds to costly delays. "It took nearly 15 years to get a permit to deepen a Florida port that had already been deepened before," said Representative Tom Rice (R-SC).

Step Forward: Innovations and Collaborations

Solutions include streamlining and fast-tracking key projects (e.g., New York's Tappan Zee Bridge); a national infrastructure bank (42 states have them); and private-public partnerships, such as the Port of Miami tunnel project.

Photo credits: US Bureau of Reclamation, Library of Congress / Alfred T. Palmer

Post a Comment