You can afford what you prioritize. Unfortunately for our infrastructure, it’s rarely been the priority over the past few decades. As the backbone of the economic engine, infrastructure includes our streets and roads, water and sewer systems, ports and harbors, airports, parks, schools, power plants, bridges — to mention but a few. Infrastructure provides us with clean water, spaces for recreation, and a way to get from home to the office, yet we rarely notice infrastructure until it breaks. Notwithstanding Flint, Michigan, we rarely think twice about whether the water is safe to drink, and we become agitated when we experience a power outage requiring us to reset the microwave clock.
It’s easy to become complacent and demand the Alaska DOT to “just make the Juneau Douglas Bridge safe” or expect the sewer lines to self-heal after 50 years. The reality of infrastructure is it requires care and investment throughout its design life. We haven’t been doing a very good job at that. The American Society of Civil Engineers’ 2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure graded our nation’s infrastructure with a “D+” GPA across 16 categories. When infrastructure becomes obsolescent, such in 1965 with St. Ann’s Hospital or 2016 with the downtown docks, communities prioritize needs and recapitalize those systems to serve the public good. In Alaska and the nation more broadly, we’ve been waiting until it breaks to fix it. That’s much more costly in the long run.
The infrastructure investment gap to improve our nation’s infrastructure is $1.4 trillion from now until 2025, according to ASCE’s new Failure to Act economic study. It’s costing every family $3,400 each year because of the inefficiencies caused by inadequate infrastructure. For Juneau — think: delays caused by inadequate air/ferry/road infrastructure, costs associated repairing broken water mains, costs to ship Juneau’s sewage sludge to Oregon.
This is why our elected leaders need to be steadfast in prioritizing investment opportunities. By doing so, it would optimize our investments and support economic diversity in our region. Without a doubt, the federal government is key to successful and sustainable infrastructure investment. However, Juneau is also well suited to smartly leverage resources at the local and state level by prioritizing needs. In recent years we’ve demonstrated this by realizing significant projects including SLAM, Glacier Highway, Brotherhood Bridge, Capitol Building and port and harbor projects. More specifically, in 2010, the CBJ Assembly strategically and wisely chose a solution to invest in port facilities that will accommodate cruise ship vessels in excess of 1,000 feet that includes reduced operational costs and enhanced pedestrian access. The community decision to diversify its economy from a government town to include tourism enhances our economic resiliency. The $54 million new cruise ship berth project, borne entirely from cruise ship passengers proceeds, will elevate the port’s world-class status. With 1 million cruise ship visitors per year, tourism now funds nearly a quarter of all local sales tax for the operations of the CBJ and is the small business incubator for scores of locally owned companies. It provides opportunities for our high schoolers and college-aged students to get summer work and will be fundamental for Juneau’s growth in the coming decades.
For these reasons, the new cruise ship berth project will be recognized at an ASCE Infrastructure Week event to what smart and sustainable investment looks like. The national, annual week to recognize that Infrastructure Matters to our communities, quality of life, and economy is the perfect time to celebrate the good things that are happening in Juneau and identify the next frontier to improve our infrastructure.
• Carl Uchytil is Juneau’s port director and is the current Secretary of the Alaska Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
