The Infrastructure Show - Podcasts

October 1, 2026 Dear Infrastructure Show Followers – Thanks for joining us on our extended infrastructure journey. It’s been 17 years since we started this exploration. Credit for the podcast idea goes to Marion Sours, our producer and partner, who has sustained us for so long. All I contributed was a little engineering knowledge and

Autonomous vehicles – robotaxis, automated shuttles, and self-driving cars –  are a growing presence on our street networks. What is their function in the travel market?  How do they affect mobility?  How do they affect traffic congestion?  Are they safe enough ?   To explore automated vehicles on our streets, we are speaking with David

Building codes are standards for design and construction that protect owners, occupants, and the public by assuring safety, sanitation, accessibility, and energy efficiency of buildings. Are today’s building codes keeping up with new risks, new materials, and new needs? Who determines building codes today and how? What are the opportunities and challenges for making improvements?

Driven through the heart of New York by Robert Moses in the 1940s & 50s, the BQE carries heavy traffic in a narrow slice through dense residential and commercial places. Today, at 75, the BQE needs major reconstruction, particularly the tri-level section through Brooklyn Heights, where the top level is the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, much

Data centers are being built rapidly to meet the exploding computational demands of artificial intelligence and cloud computing. As they proliferate, data centers are stressing the supply of electric power, water, and land, and as a result, they are meeting local resistance.  To understand the resource demands of data centers, we talk with Shaolei Ren,

Tunnel boring machines (TBMs) are large, integrated machines that make tunneling faster, safer, and more efficient.  To dig into the details of how TBMs work, we talk with Mike Mooney, Grewcock Distinguished Chair Professor of Underground Construction and Tunneling, and Professor of both Civil and Environmental Engineering and Mechanical Engineering, at the Colorado School of

Chicago, the center of North American railroading, is also the center of rail congestion, in part  because it has so many level crossings. Among the busiest was on 75th Street, on the Southwest Side of the city where trains from four railroads meet at a 90-degree grade crossing. In 2025, this junction was converted to

Sidewalks are important links in almost every passenger trip. When they fall into disrepair, or where they are incomplete, they create hazards and barriers for pedestrians. Denver, like many cities, left sidewalk maintenance and funding to adjacent property owners, leading to condition problems and continuity gaps. To address this situation, the city recently established its

In September 2024, Hurricane Helene played havoc with North Carolina’s highway system, striking the western part of the state which has rarely seen hurricanes. The NC Department of Transportation worked aggressively to protect both physical assets and people during the storm and in restoration efforts after Helene passed. The agency earned several industry awards for

A major role of the U.S. Coast Guard is responding to waterborne disasters. Managing large scale disasters usually calls for multi-agency collaboration based on shared information. In such situations, the Coast Guard relies on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to provide a common operating picture to all collaborators. To learn how the Coast Guard uses GIS