May 14, 2021
Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, ENV SP, LEED AP
President, Chen Moore and Associates

Last week: Lost amongst the pipeline hacks and gas lines, a significant crack was found on the I-40 bridge between Memphis and West Memphis. The good news is that the crack was found before there was a catastrophic failure. The bad news is that now the 71-year-old I-55 bridge is the only crossing in a 160 mile stretch of the Mississippi River and barge traffic under the bridge is essentially shut, which will greatly impact the movement of goods. Yet another reason why infrastructure benefits more than just the construction industry.

Looking ahead: More work in the resiliency space will begin this week. The governor’s signing of SB 1954 and SB 2514 will – among other things – invest hundreds of millions of state dollars in flooding infrastructure projects. In addition to the funds, which are definitely needed, though, the plans that accompany the funds are really the exciting part. Instead of these being one-time infusions, this will create a financially sustainable plan for future generations of Floridians.

May 7, 2021
Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, ENV SP, LEED AP
President, Chen Moore and Associates

Last week: This past week, the Federal Treasury said it expects to borrow $463 billion in the current April-June quarter, which will be part of its plans to borrow $2.28 trillion for the full budget year, which ends September 30. The $463 billion represents a significant jump from the government’s initial estimate three months ago that it would need to borrow just $95 billion in the current quarter. The government ran up a record $3.1 trillion budget deficit last year, reflecting the COVID relief spending and a drop in revenues caused by the recession. We need to stop reckless spending.

Looking ahead: Last year, the Legislature’s Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) created a task force on local government efficiency. The task force has effectively finalized its recommendations to streamline government processes. The Local Government Efficiency Task Force, established by the Legislature last year, is set to hand its final report to Gov. Ron DeSantis, Senate President Wilton Simpson and House Speaker Chris Sprowls by June 1. The report includes recommendations on elections, public meetings, reporting, pension plans, unfunded mandates and business taxes. The question comes down to whether or not these recommendations will make next year’s legislative agenda.

April 30, 2021
Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, ENV SP, LEED AP
President, Chen Moore and Associates

Last week: $100 Billion! I hear that with the voice of Dr. Evil from an Austin Powers movie, but this isn’t a comedy, this is a tragedy. Trust me, I know that we have needs in this state – health, economic and infrastructure – but I’m very concerned that the state budget crossing this boundary violates a mental barrier that future legislators won’t hesitate to cross. Florida still has an immature economy, depending on transactions in the form of sales tax and doc stamps. Until we have a more robust manufacturing economy to add additional stability, we need to stay lean and mean as a state.

Looking ahead: The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is 169 years old, representing over 150,000 members in 177 countries, making it the largest civil engineering organization in the world. Why is that important in the coming weeks? Because the election of the next President-elect (and other positions) will happen during the open voting period of May 1 through June 1. Of personal significance, I am one of the two candidates vying for President-elect. This would make me the third Floridian (and first native) elected, bringing Florida into the national (and international) spotlight once again. I’ll know the results June 3.

April 17, 2021
Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, ENV SP, LEED AP
President, Chen Moore and Associates

Last week: To obtain my civil engineering degrees, I was only required to take two classes about traffic and transportation practices. It may not seem like a lot, but it’s two more than everyone on the Florida House Commerce Committee has taken, and yet, they seemed to think that passing House Bill 1113 last week was a good idea. This bill requires the removal of yellow flashing lights at crosswalks, in favor of changing them to red lights. Federal standards do not allow red lights, so the flashing lights will be removed. Why throw out years of practice for political posturing?

Looking ahead: I’m preparing to get my second COVID-19 Pfizer shot, like many of my colleagues and clients. I’ve noticed, though, that CDC guidelines have barely moved even when including those who are vaccinated. How is a business supposed to “get back to normal” when the CDC guidelines don’t factor in those who voluntarily vaccinated? We strongly believe in personal choice and freedoms, but as things get back to “normal,” quarantining after a flight or international travel is going to become onerous, particularly if those employees are vaccinated. The “new normal” needs to have at least a little normal in it.

April 9, 2021
Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, ENV SP, LEED AP
President, Chen Moore and Associates

Last week: I was very disappointed in the House State Affairs Committee this past week. In a 12-8 vote, they moved HB 1131 through the committee. The sole purpose of the bill is to remove the requirements for the State University System to follow FS 287.055 – the Consultant’s Competitive Negotiation Act. This state law requires public agencies to hire architects and engineers on qualifications first and price second. Do you want your high-rise building or bridge designed by the lowest bidder? This is required for federal funding and is overall bad policy – why start the slippery slope?

Looking ahead: Next week, we’ll continue to see the state House and Senate get together on budget appropriations. With water in the forefront of everyone’s policy, right now only about 12 of the hundreds of budget requests are in the draft funding list in both chambers. While this isn’t a death sentence for these projects, it is a step in the wrong direction. The appropriation requests were already reduced with the impacts from COVID unknown at the end of 2020. The time for our Legislature to get together and make water a priority is now.

April 2, 2021
Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, ENV SP, LEED AP
President, Chen Moore and Associates

Last week: As the “infrastructure guy” in the SF100, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the $2 Trillion Infrastructure Plan unveiled by the president this week. The problem with the figure is that, of that money, half is allocated toward elderly/disabled programs and research, development and job training. While I certainly find value in the latter, they are not capital investments in infrastructure. This result in the program only achieving about 40% of what the ASCE Report Card on America’s Infrastructure unveiled just a couple weeks ago. It’s a start, but I worry that it will be too little too late.

Looking ahead: Sticking with the topic of infrastructure, but this time putting the emphasis on the political will to make the necessary investments. In less than 20 years, not properly funding infrastructure will cost America $10 trillion, over 3 million jobs and nearly $3.4 trillion in exports. It’s a frustrating world as an engineer when we know how to fix these problems, and we hear our politicians saying they want to give the general public the best, but they are unwilling to make those tough choices. It’s not a matter of if, but when, we need to act.

March 26, 2021

Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, ENV SP, LEED AP

President, Chen Moore and Associates

Last week: This past Tuesday, it was a little breezy in South Florida, but in Egypt, there were sandstorms hitting with 50 mph gusts. Why is that important? Because that day, the Ever Given, one of the world’s largest ships, lost power and became grounded at an angle, effectively blocking the Suez Canal. A very important trade route, this blockage impacts nearly 100 ships a day. This may have impacts to oil pricing in Europe and may delay semiconductor delivery in the United States. Next time someone brings up infrastructure, please don’t forget just how interconnected this world is.

Looking ahead: As the details of President Biden’s Build Back Better infrastructure stimulus come to light, it appears that an infrastructure package would include roughly $1 trillion for roads, bridges, rail lines, electrical vehicle charging stations and the cellular network, among other items. The goal would be to facilitate the shift to cleaner energy while improving economic competitiveness. I’m a pretty fiscally conservative person, but I know that the design and construction of infrastructure improvements like these has a significant return on investment that extends well past those in the hard hats. Let’s embrace infrastructure as our future.

March 12, 2021

Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, ENV SP, LEED AP

President, Chen Moore and Associates

Last week: I was in primary school, watching a show at Parker Playhouse when the whispers came down the row, “the Challenger exploded.” When we got back to school, the news was nonstop, made even harder because a teacher was on board. This past week, Allan J. McDonald, a rocket scientist and whistleblower who refused to sign off on the launch of the Challenger space shuttle over safety concerns and, after its explosion, argued that the tragedy could have been averted had officials heeded warnings from engineers like himself, died. Thirty-five years later, this is still a lesson on how ethics matter.

Looking ahead: This coming week, the Florida House Civil Justice and Property Rights Subcommittee will hear House Bill 891, intended to limit the liability of engineers that work with urban search and rescue teams. Most people don’t even know that for every 40 people deployed as part of disaster recovery, typically 10% of that team are structural engineers that crawl into the pile to shore the rubble so that first responders can safely search for survivors or recover casualties. Over the last five years, we’ve lost 80% of those engineers as they and their companies worry about lawsuits. We need their help.

March 5, 2021

Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, ENV SP, LEED AP

President, Chen Moore and Associates

Last week: What would you do with an extra $3,300 a year? That’s the cost of poor infrastructure in our country. This past week, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) released its 2021 Report Card on America’s Infrastructure. This was the eighth release since the original 1988 report, and the overall grade raised to a C- for the country. The grades range from a B in rail to a D- in transit. Overall, 11 category grades were stuck in the D range, a clear signal that our overdue bill on infrastructure is a long way from being paid off.

Looking ahead: I’ve spent the last two weeks doing a number of mock interviews with engineering students as they are preparing for potential internships this summer – for internships that they aren’t 100% sure will actually happen. Last year, we had eight interns, but most other engineering companies cancelled their programs. The ability for a student to intern is so critical in their career path and it isn’t really something that can be done virtually because (particularly first-time interns) have no idea what they are doing. In order for us to build the infrastructure we need, we need safe work environments.

February 27, 2021

Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, ENV SP, LEED AP

President, Chen Moore and Associates

Last week: This past week was the 70th anniversary of National Engineer’s Week. Most readers probably don’t care about that, until you start to realize that everything you do, from your first drink of water until your last alarm setting in the night, wouldn’t have happened without an engineer. In this pandemic, the technology we use has become even more important and we rely even more upon our incredible infrastructure in this country. I’ve been an engineer for more than 20 years, and I know that we work without expectation of appreciation. Just once, though, it would be nice to hear thanks.

Looking ahead: On March 3, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) will release its quadrennial “Report Card on America’s Infrastructure,” giving a comprehensive assessment of our nation’s infrastructure and recommending solutions we need to improve Americans’ quality of life. Broken into 17 categories, ASCE breaks down the country’s most outstanding needs through research and coordination with many governmental agencies. Not to just point out that there is a problem without a solution, though, the “Call to Action” report will quickly follow the release of the report card to give budget-level estimates and policy ideas to legislators.