This is a template of an opinion editorial or blog for Infrastructure Week affiliates to use. Feel free to download and edit this template [please note highlighted sections which suggest local examples be inserted]. Blogs and opinion pieces should be signed by an author and typically are 600-800 words in total. Email hen a blog or opinion piece has been published about Infrastructure Week.
Op-ed/blog template for Infrastructure Week toolkit
It feels like Americans are collectively holding our breath when we interact with our infrastructure: When we are driving and know we are about to slam into a pothole. When we’re waiting to see if the subway or bus is ever going to come. When we brace ourselves for chaos at the airport. We are all holding our breath, waiting to see if the worst-case scenario happens or if we skate by for another day.
None of this is new. Our nation’s infrastructure has been in a slow-motion decline, right before our eyes, for decades now. Groups like the American Society of Civil Engineers have been trying to ring the alarm bell, releasing a national Infrastructure Report Card filled with D’s to let us know our infrastructure is failing – and to warn us that every day we wait, repairs become more expensive and Americans pay the cost – in lost productivity, higher costs of living and goods, and time spent waiting instead of working or with our families.
We have all heard the stories about tens of thousands of bridges past their useful lifespan, highways that need to be rebuilt, inland waterways that are neglected, drinking water and wastewater systems that cause public safety issues. Locally, we know [insert well-known local example of an infrastructure issues – an aging bridge that needs to be replaced, a stalled out transit project, a low-lying roadway or other surfaced-area that is flood prone, etc].
So why are we still waiting for action? How long are we going to hold our breath and hope that we avoid catastrophe? May 14-21, 2018, is the sixth annual Infrastructure Week, which is a national week of advocacy and education designed to raise awareness about why we need to invest in our infrastructure. To continue to ignore it puts our health and safety at risk, and our economy at risk too.
According to ASCE, commuters waste 42 hours and $1,200 in fuel per person and idling in traffic. A study from the Value of Water Campaign found that if a water-reliant business, such as a brewery to auto manufacturer, lost water service the company could lose up to $5,800 per employee per day. ASCE also found that more than $1.3 trillion in property lies in the path of under-maintained aging levees, dams, and other critical infrastructure, putting whole communities at risk.
If we want modern, safe, reliable infrastructure, we need to act now. We need elected leaders at every level – municipal, state, and federal – to prioritize infrastructure investment. Repairing and upgrading water systems, ports, airports, highways, the power grid, and broadband is what Americans want. Gallup polling has shown consistently that this is one of the most popular, least politically controversial topics for the federal government to address. Locally, people want [insert local example of a project the public would support – replacing lead service lines, fixing potholes, replacing an old bridge, rehabbing an out of date airport, etc.]
We are all tired of waiting. Let’s use this Infrastructure Week to send a message: we have waited long enough, and the future isn’t going to wait for us if we drag our feet any longer. It is time for our leadership to step up and build the infrastructure this country deserves.