Infrastructure
It’s an ongoing, multitrillion-dollar challenge to build new and maintain existing infrastructure. This section will explore forward-looking approaches to funding, building and maintaining roads, highways, rail and broadband, as well as water and other utilities.
In response to high pedestrian fatalities and chronic congestion, a state plan will pay for improvements near schools throughout the state.
The state ranks 46th in the nation when it comes to Internet access and 7 in 10 residents do not have access to affordable connectivity, which is defined as below $60 per month.
The Massachusetts governor signed an executive order to create a chief information technology accessibility officer to expand equity on the state’s websites and digital tools.
Since the earliest days of the Internet, much of the world’s data flows through Northern Virginia. But power limitations and environmental concerns could slow down the region's relentless pace of data center activity.
Heat diffusion into the ground creates high underground temperatures, which makes the ground swell, causing buildings to sink and crack, leading to tremendous upkeep and retrofitting costs.
The agency inadvertently started a wildfire last year that burned more than 60 square miles after a prescribed burn went wrong. It was the third prescribed burn that went awry last year.
City planning agencies and business improvement districts are increasingly relying on cellphone tracking data from groups like Placer.ai to understand how cities are changing.
The new facility has 26 360-kilowatt charging stations for electric freight trucks, making it the largest charging station of its kind for the port. However, to meet climate goals, the facility will need many more chargers by 2030.
Each year, 15 billion gallons of untreated sewage and rainwater flood the city's waterways during storms. The water department has been under order by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to clean up the system.
The $3.8 billion flood-control project recently had to activate many of its overflow pipes and a sluice gate to manage the quickly gaining waters. As storms become more severe due to climate change, they will continue to outmatch the region’s infrastructure.
A 7.2 magnitude earthquake off of the coast triggered a tsunami warning that created confusion, traffic jams and evacuations despite the alert later being canceled. Some worry the inefficient system could erode public trust.
Commissioners in Yancey County, in the western part of the state, considered withdrawing their library from the regional system after heated public debate about a Pride Month book display.
The Lafayette, La., police department has started piloting 100 e-citation machines, as replacement of paper ticketing, to reduce time and safety risks for officers issuing citations.
To decrease dispatch wait times, the city’s police board wants to implement an auto-attendant to sort calls for police, fire, EMS or non-emergency assistance. But Motorola says the implementation could stretch into next year.
Six of the state agency’s regional units, including the North Bay area, are testing new video technology that will utilize AI to speed response to fires and other natural disasters as they happen.
The provision went into effect on July 1 and prohibits those attempting to sell consumer goods and services by phone and text from calling numbers on the list. But there are several exceptions to the law.
A mineral exploration company hopes to discover lithium, a necessary component of rechargeable batteries, on a small patch of land in Nye County, Nev. But the operation could decimate a neighboring wildlife refuge with one miscalculation.
Commercial and residential buildings produce 13 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, nationwide, and consume 28 percent of energy. Several states are requiring large buildings to track their energy use to improve efficiency.
An elite group of wildland firefighters trained to parachute out of planes and into remote areas to fight blazes, in hopes of quickly stopping fires at their source and preventing further damage.
Networks of thousands of home-based batteries could be key to a cleaner, more reliable electricity system.
Nearly one million residents get their drinking water from municipal wells contaminated with toxic forever chemicals. For the 1.4 million that depend on private wells, individual well owners must take on the onus of testing their water.
The federal infrastructure dollars are available, but it’s unclear whether small-town water systems that need the money most will get help.
As the quick work on a Philadelphia highway collapse shows, there are people in government who know how to get things done. But too often, we let “citizen voice” make the process harder and too expensive.
Gov. Greg Abbott recently signed a law establishing a new state emergency alert system called Athena Alert. Here’s a breakdown of the differences between an Athena Alert, Amber Alert, Clear Alert and more.
Despite there being more than 2.2 million electric vehicles on U.S. roads, property landlords estimate that less than 5 percent of their apartments and offices have chargers available to tenants.
More than 140 people have been killed by drivers who fled the scene in Sacramento County since 2018 and experts blame aging roadways that were designed without pedestrians or cyclists in mind.
A portion of Interstate 95 collapsed in Philadelphia after a gasoline tanker caught fire. Officials have promised a rapid response that “cuts through the red tape.”
The electricity agency has issued a warning of higher demand on the state’s power infrastructure this weekend as temperatures are expected to reach 100 degrees in North Texas. But there have not been predicted outages or a call for conserving power.
The city gave itself a year to disclose its surveillance technologies, compile an impact report and decide which tools should stay in use. With the deadline fast approaching, not a single tool has been approved.
Foreign developers have already made proposals to establish wind farms in the Gulf of Mexico that would be managed by Louisiana. The state wants to get at least 5,000 megawatts from offshore wind over the next 12 years.
They worry that the retirement of fossil fuel electricity production without the replacement of reliable renewable energy sources could cause rolling blackouts and widespread deaths from loss of power.
