As Congress debates infrastructure bill, Prof. Petroski explains the history of America's infrastructure and its funding. 

Did you know, that before the 19th century, the only engineering schools were at military academies, such as West Point? Civil engineers that took courses in military schools were later hired by governments and, mostly, by private enterprises to build infrastructure that would make the conduct of business more efficient. So, at its core, infrastructure has always been about commerce and the economy. This statement is timeless - it applied to Roman roads and aqueducts as it applies to American freeway and broadband networks.  When it comes to infrastructure, just as in any other technical discipline, improvement spawns out of failure.  As Professor Henry Petroski tells it, while the French were historically great theorists and designers of infrastructure, the British were better doers. And in their infrastructure efforts, the British kept close records of their progress and failures, something that didn't happen in the U.S. until the 1980s.  

And here is something that I bet you didn't know: 100 years ago, engineers believed that they could build a bridge across the Atlantic. Yes, one hundred years ago. Try getting Congress to pay for that!   

This is the link to Professor Petroski's academic homepage, which includes a list of his many publications, accomplishments and awards: https://cee.duke.edu/faculty/henry-petroski