The Infrastructure Show - Podcasts

By Professor Joseph Schofer, Thomas Herman, and Marion Sours

News & Politics Government & Organizations Regional

What's The Infrastructure Show - Podcasts about?

The Infrastructure Show consists of monthly podcasts in which some of the nation’s top infrastructure experts discuss with host Professor Joseph Schofer of Northwestern University the condition of our infrastructure today, and what can be done about it. While many subjects are addressed, including repairs, upgrades and new construction, there is an emphasis on the topics of preventive and predictive maintenance, as well as “structural health monitoring” – a special focus of the Northwestern Infrastructure Technology Institute, of which Dr. Schofer is Director.

Download our free app to listen on your phone

LAST EPISODE

Low Water on the Mississipp...

09.01.2023

Fluctuations in water levels on our inland waterways system can affect the movement of bulk freight, particularly agricultural products. Low waters, as occurred in the fall of 2022 on the lower Mississippi River, limited the flow of freight and

The Infrastructure Show - Podcasts episodes:

09.01.2023 Low Water on the Mississippi Blocks Farm Trade Fluctuations in water levels on our inland waterways system can affect the movement of bulk freight, particularly agricultural products. Low waters, as occurred in the fall of 2022 on the lower Mississippi River, limited the flow of freight and
08.01.2023 The New Frederick Douglass Tunnel – Improving Amtrak Services The 150-year-old Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel, Amtrak’s oldest, carries traffic for Amtrak, the Maryland Area Rail Commuter (MARC) Service, as well as Norfolk Southern freight operations. This tunnel is a major bottleneck
07.01.2023 Causes and Prevention of Train Derailments US railroads are highly efficient at moving freight. Indeed, our freight rail system is the envy of the world, but sometimes accidents occur. When train derailments occur, the outcome is usually minor, but occasionally more serious problems
06.01.2023 Mass Timber Buildings – New Ways to Build with an Old Material Wood has been perhaps the most common material for buildings for millennia, but innovations in its application are bringing new opportunities and advantages for working with this sustainable material. Structural applications of mass timber are
05.01.2023 Insuring Infrastructure Against Climate Change Changing climate brings new risks to infrastructure, and commonly these risks are shared with insurance companies. To control their risks, insurers need to understand and anticipate both the sources and characteristics of natural threats, and to
04.01.2023 Transforming Commuter Rail Services for a Post-COVID Market COVID-19 has robbed public transit of riders as many have changed workplaces, shifted schedules, and chosen new ways to travel to avoid crowds. Transit operators around the world are working to attract commuters back,
03.01.2023 Rural Transit Meets Big Challenges Mobility is essential for the well-being of people wherever they live. The automobile is king of the mobility market across the US, but public transit supports mobility for those who cannot, or chose not to, travel by car. The need ...
02.01.2023 Overheated Infrastructure A hotter climate brings new challenges to the built infrastructure, stressing service systems – power generation and distribution and transportation systems – as well as structures. Are we prepared for these problems? How can infrastructure adapt
01.01.2023 Restoring a Superfund Site Superfund sites are seriously polluted locations that are subject to remediation by the Environmental Protection Agency under the 1980 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). These
12.01.2022 Lighting Up the Farms This podcast is a timely history lesson about the electrification of rural America and the Depression-era program that made it happen. The Rural Electrification Act of 1936 – the REA – provided federal loans to install
11.01.2022 Keeping the Port of Virginia Flowing Marine ports are gateways to world trade, and their efficient functioning is a pillar of our economy. East and Gulf Coast ports have grown more important in recent years because of the expanded Panama Canal locks opened in 2016 and ...
10.01.2022 Motor Vehicles and Trains - a Deadly Mix Railroads and motor vehicles can come into conflict at level, or at-grade crossings. Such conflicts almost always lead to deadly consequences. In this podcast we consider the trend in rail grade crossing crashes, and the differences that crossing
09.01.2022 Rebuilding the Merchants Bridge while Keeping Traffic Moving Replacing an active railroad bridge while limiting disruptions to both rail and river traffic presents significant challenges in design and construction staging. The 1889 Merchants Bridge at St. Louis – the oldest remaining rail bridge across the
08.01.2022 Energy from the Earth – How does it work? Because temperatures below the surface of the earth are relatively constant year around, the earth can be used as a heat sink or source to cool or heat buildings, offering an energy source that is not only carbon-free, but is ...
07.01.2022 Tornado-Resistant Building Standards Over 1200 tornadoes strike the U.S. each year, bringing destruction, injuries, and deaths to communities. Until recently there were no structural design standards specifically aimed at providing some tornado protection for buildings. In this
06.01.2022 Building More Cost-effective Rail Transit Is it more costly to build urban rail infrastructure in America? Does that affect the quality of the products? If so, can we do anything to control costs and get more value for our money? The Eno Center for Transportation, ...
05.02.2022 Restoring the Everglades The Everglades is a huge wetland – an area permanently covered with water – that includes a variety of unique ecosystems delivering essential services to both natural and human development systems, including water storage, treatment, flood
04.01.2022 Keeping Bridges in Good Repair We rely on state and local highway agencies to assure the safety and functionality of the more that 618,000 bridges the American public traverses on a daily basis. The sheer numbers, our aging bridge population, and limits to funding make ...
03.01.2022 Managing Curbside Access in Cities Competition for urban curb space can be fierce on a day to day basis, and a policy and technical challenge for longer term planning. Delivery companies and their customers, people trying to park their cars, pedestrians, and bike riders are ...
02.01.2022 Groundwater: Surprisingly Important, Significantly at Risk Groundwater is the source of about 40 percent of our potable water, and thus it is important for many households, farms, manufacturing, and other processes. In some places groundwater is contaminated, or at risk of contamination. In many placed it ...
01.03.2022 The End of the Line – the Story of Railroad Terminals Rail terminals are the beginning and end points of the rail freight journey, and they serve a key sorting function for merchandise trains, those carrying mixed freight. Rail terminals are large, complex, and varied in their characteristics, and their
12.01.2021 Looking Back on the Erie Canal History can be a great teacher, particularly so when it comes to infrastructure achievements. During the Bicentennial period of the construction of the Erie Canal, it is appropriate and informative to look back at this groundbreaking infrastructure
11.01.2021 Logistics Real Estate: Meeting the Demand for Warehouses and Distribution Centers Beyond the capability to move products, supply chains need storage space for transferring and holding goods en route and while they await shipment to customers. Sufficiency – and efficiency – of logistics real estate, warehouses and distribution
10.01.2021 Moving Traffic When Flood Waters Rise It’s the functionality of infrastructure that brings value, and when natural hazards disrupt that functionality, the costs can be high. This is a growing problem for transportation networks, which are being assaulted by wildfires, landslides, and
09.01.2021 Borrowing for Infrastructure Big infrastructure projects need big money, and larger projects rely on some kind of borrowing – using other people’s money for a period of time. To learn how infrastructure projects are financed through borrowing, we talk with Scott
08.02.2021 Delivering the Power – What’s Behind the Electric Grid? Electric power operates our homes and businesses, and it promises to be the future of mobility, as well. There is a constant need to match temporal and spatial variations in supply and demand for electricity across regions of the country. ...
07.01.2021 Getting the Lead Out The health risks posed by lead water service lines are well known. Just how common is this invisible hazard in our potable water? What can we do to address it? To explore the problem, responses to it, and the costs, ...
06.01.2021 The ABCs of Accelerated Bridge Construction Building or replacing highway bridges quickly can save traffic delays by cutting on-site construction time. What are the design and construction strategies that make this possible? To answer this question we talk about Accelerated Bridge
05.04.2021 Moynihan Train Hall - Designing a New Future for a Classic Building On January 1, 2021, a new life began for the century-old James A. Farley Post Office in Manhattan when it became the home of the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Train Hall serving Amtrak and Long Island Railroad passengers. Preserving the Beaux-Arts ...
04.02.2021 Our 2021 Infrastructure Grade A national perspective on the condition and performance of our infrastructure is important for informing the dialog about investing in this system that is so important for supporting our society and economy. Every four years the American Society of
03.02.2021 Redesigning Streets for People City streets do much more than just move traffic. They connect to our homes and businesses, supporting not just motor vehicles but pedestrian and bicycle traffic as well, and serving in the way of the ancient forum by proving spaces ...
02.01.2021 Short Line and Regional Railroads Railroads helped grow our nation, supporting settlement and economic growth from coast to coast. Today, the rail industry plays a central role in the most efficient freight and logistics system in the world. The 7 national, Class I railroads are
01.04.2021 The Future of Big Cities after COVID-19 What’s the path forward for large cities once COVID-19 is controlled? Will workers and residents come back downtown? Will riders return to mass transit systems? How can we sustain them until then? Will the demand for
12.02.2020 Broadband Access - Technology and Policy Is the Internet a part of U.S. infrastructure? Although the physical infrastructure that carries the data is largely invisible, broadband Internet communication has become a backbone of our society and economy, carrying messages that support work,
11.02.2020 Models for Designing Flood Mitigation Infrastructure – The Fargo-Moorhead Project River basins in the Midwestern U.S. are under growing threat from flooding driven by climate change. Within the flood control and protection portfolio of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is a large project to mitigate flood risk for the ...
10.01.2020 Managing Motion in Tall Structures All tall structures are designed to sway in response to wind and earthquakes for reasons of efficiency and economy, but it is important to control that movement for the comfort of occupants. To learn about some of the technologies for ...
09.01.2020 A Unique Double Decker: The Sarah Mildred Long Bridge Crossing the Piscataqua River at Portsmouth, N.H., the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge carries both road and rail traffic between Maine and New Hampshire. Its unique three-position vertical lift design accommodates recreational and less frequent commercial
08.03.2020 Unseen Infrastructure: Submarine Cables People began laying undersea cables to carry telegraph messages over 170 years ago. Today, modern submarine cables connect all continents except Antarctica, and even in the age of satellites, their importance in delivering global connectivity
06.29.2020 A New Airport for Salt Lake City Salt Lake City is replacing the landside infrastructure of its airport with a 21st century facility while airline operations continue. In fact, the slowdown in air travel due to the corona virus has presented airport management with an opportunity to
06.01.2020 Moving to Higher Ground – Retreat as a Response to Climate Change Rising sea level driven by climate change is threatening some coastal settlements with more frequent flooding and potential inundation. For some, the time may come to consider relocating to higher ground. This is a controversial and costly option, a
05.06.2020 Bay City, MI Chooses Private Solution for Financing Bridge Replacement When aging infrastructure needs repair or replacement, a primary challenge is finding the money. Bay City, Michigan, northwest of Detroit, faced this problem with two key bridges, and the community ultimately decided to sell the bridges to a private
04.02.2020 Making Roads Into Parks - Washington, DC’s 11th Street Bridge Park Project Sometimes obsolete infrastructure can become a new asset. That’s Washington, D.C.’s plan for an unneeded highway bridge over the Anacostia River. The 11th Street Bridge Park, set for construction starting in 2021, will bring green and
03.02.2020 Building the New Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Hampton Roads isn’t a road, but a body of water that links the James, Elizabeth and other rivers to the Atlantic Ocean. It is surrounded by Norfolk, Virginia Beach, and several other cities, and it’s the home of U.S. Naval ...
02.03.2020 The Importance of Dredging to Transportation on the Upper Mississippi River Persistent flooding in the upper Midwest poses risks to navigation on the Upper Mississippi River. Erosion and sedimentation are reducing channel depths and creating sandbars that block or reduce the capacity of barge tows carrying agricultural and
01.07.2020 Battling Snow on the Roads of Colorado Colorado gets plenty of snow in the winter – some mountain areas dig out of as much as 40 feet in a season. Keeping the state roads open and safe for trucks and cars is both important and demanding. To ...
12.11.2019 Storing Stormwater Underground - Chicago’s Deep tunnel System Managing stormwater in cities is important to reduce flooding and secure people and property. Stormwater needs some kind of treatment before it flows to surface waters, and that treatment can be essential in older areas where stormwater and sanitary
10.29.2019 Precision Scheduled Railroading The US freight railroad system is moving to a different operating strategy, called Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR), intended to speed up service, get better utilization from infrastructure, and reduce operating costs.
09.30.2019 Dam Dangers – The Risks of Low-Head Dams People have been building dams for centuries to impound water for drinking and recreation, to support navigation, to manage floods, and as a source of hydroelectric power. But dams can also present dangers. Low-head dams, in particular, can pose
09.05.2019 The Geysers Geothermal Field in California – the World’s Largest Geothermal Energy Producer Geothermal energy brings steam created with the heat of magma deep in the earth to generate electric power. California is endowed with numerous sites where magma is close enough to the surface to make geothermal energy practical. The Geysers, a
07.26.2019 Positive Train Control Positive Train Control, or PTC, is a set of technologies designed to assure that our railroad system is protected from collisions and error-driven accidents. The system tracks the location of trains, compares their immediate

Older episodes