Pub. 3 2020-21 Issue 2

26 How did you get involved in civil engineering? My dad was a civil engineer, but I didn’t know what that meant when I was growing up. There is a technical school close to our home. I took mechanical drafting there during high school and liked it. My older brother was a Civil Engineering student. He knew I liked drafting, encouraged me to take some engineering classes at Utah State University, and I ended up getting my degree in civil engineering. How long have you been involved with the Utah Section of ASCE? I was a member of the student chapter in college. After graduation in 1998, I didn’t register as a full member until around 2005. In 2011-2012, I became more involved in giving back to the community as part of the Community Giving Committee. I continued to serve in various capacities and was on the Wasatch Front Board, served as the Utah Section President, and then became the committee chair for the infrastructure report card. Had you worked on the infrastructure report card previously? This report card is only Utah’s second one, and it was the first one I’ve worked on. The first report cardwas in 2015. Several members who worked on the 2015 report card helpedme with the 2020 report card. Why does infrastructure affect the state’s ability to be competitive? As our state continues to grow, our population is going to continue to grow. We need to have quality infrastructure in place. Good infrastructure plays an important role in the sustainability of our state’s growth. If we invest in resilient and sustainable infrastructure, the infrastructure it helps us build stronger, healthier, and more prosperous communities. We will have a higher quality of life if we improve the places we live, work, and play. What would you say to those who are pushing back on the need to invest in infrastructure? Communities supported by integrated mobility and updated utilities that sustain health and economy, will elevate the overall quality of life. How did engineers decide on the grades that were given (federally and by state)? There’s an established process for doing these report cards. We assemble a team of engineers who are members of ASCE, and we create our committee. We, define the categories we want to evaluate, study existing literature and news reports, and interview agency representatives. For example, for the drinking water section, engineers interviewed leaders and staff at the water conservancy districts, reviewed master plans on the state and local level, and examined state and city budgets to get an idea of funding. Then we take the information we researched and evaluate it against eight criteria: 1. Capacity 2. Condition 3. Funding 4. Future need 5. Operation and maintenance 6. Public safety 7. Resilience 8. Innovation Depending on how each category meets the criteria, engineers use the results to establish the grade. The grading process is the same on the national level but with national organizations. The overall grade for the U.S. was a C-. The Utah grade was a C+. Why is Utah’s grade slightly better than the one for the nation as a whole? There are a variety of reasons. The main one is that our top grades were given to roadways, bridges, and transit. All three got a B+. We have a quality transportation system that we do really well. CRAIG FRIANT Q&A UTAH INFRASTRUCTURE REPORT