Wait…It’s the Flash

Here at the editorial offices of Grading & Excavation Contractor magazine, we simply cannot stop talking about Infrastructure Week, which will be taking place May 16–23. It is still two months away, but we are starting the conversation now. Think of it as those fleeting moments that pass from the time a photographer says “Smile!” to the time the shutter on the camera actually opens and closes. We’re also going to continue talking about the state of our infrastructure long after Infrastructure Week has passed. I guess you can think of that time as the moments after your picture was taken when you’re wondering if you blinked.

Our efforts are well under way. After collaborating with the editors of our sister publications, Stormwater, Erosion Control, Business Energy, Water Efficiency, and MSW Management magazines, we came up with a list of four questions that address issues of the nation’s infrastructure. Each magazine sent these four questions to leading manufacturing executives and experts in the various industries for them to answer. We are currently waiting for their responses. While you wait with us, why don’t you take a look at the four questions and see how you would answer them. Feel free to pass your answers on to us.

The questions are:

• Which infrastructure projects should be given priority? Roads and bridges? Dams and levees? Water supply? Electrical grid?

• Is there a solution to long-term infrastructure funding?

• What kind of harm is the current state of our infrastructure doing to the economy and the community?

• What can various government entities—from local to federal—do to attract private sector support and investment?

Smile!

By the way, have you ever wondered why people never smiled in old photographs?

One final note, a very important webinar is about to take place at Forester University.