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.
There are a number of steps that state and local leaders could take to narrow the funding gap by tens of billions, making the most of the money that is available to keep the faucets flowing.
Officials tout the state’s diverse portfolio of energy sources, including wind, solar, natural gas and nuclear, as a major factor behind its resilience. On Aug. 7, peak demand was at 84,029 megawatts.
The typical city’s home pays nearly $2,385 per month on household expenses like mortgage, rent, loans, utilities and insurance, ranking 331 out of 431 cities across the state with the most expensive household bills.
Hasan Ikhrata recently announced his resignation, ending five years of acrimony with local officials around transportation policy. Left unresolved is how the region will fund its highways and transit systems long term.
State officials are considering the development of hydrogen fueling stations across the state with a potential focus on a 23-mile stretch near Savannah. The cost of the proposed hydrogen fueling network is not yet known.
A training program operated by the National League of Cities helps small cities apply directly for federal infrastructure funding. Participating cities have won $428 million since last summer.
Managed charging, battery storage and other technologies will be key to helping utilities build electric grid resiliency and stability.
Georgia is just one of 19 states that have laws regarding the disconnect of customer power in summer months. No company in the state may shut off power in the extreme heat or when temperature falls below 32 degrees.
To avoid putting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, some companies are using pipelines to inject the gas underground. But environmentalists and landowners are concerned about gaps in health and safety regulations.
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.
