By Marsia Geldert-Murphey, P.E., F.ASCE
My civil engineering journey began when I was a teenager. It all stemmed from the advocacy efforts of a civil engineer in my local community. His passion and dedication to helping our community inspired me to enter the profession so that I could make a difference.
As civil engineers, we have the power to shape the world. We design and build projects to fit the needs of our communities. We help leaders make informed decisions on how to invest in infrastructure. That’s why decision-makers at all levels turn to us as trusted advisers. Our perspective and first-hand experience also provide policymakers with insights into the vulnerabilities of our infrastructure, including the way systems are used and the strain put on them by more frequent extreme weather events.
Infrastructure isn’t a Republican or Democrat issue. We all use the same roads, bridges, broadband, and water systems. Our role as civil engineers isn’t partisan. It is to protect the health, safety, and welfare of all. That’s why it’s critical for us to use our professional expertise to advocate for the best use of resources to improve infrastructure for everyone.
ASCE has several initiatives to help you make a difference, such as our Legislative Fly-In, Key Contact Program, and more. Each effort keeps you informed about current advocacy efforts and provides the tools you need to contribute to conversations with lawmakers at all levels of government.
The reality is that talking about infrastructure at the grassroots level of government makes the biggest difference in our lives. While bills like the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provide a much-needed increase in infrastructure funding, the decisions on how to spend that money are largely made at the state and local levels. Local leaders decide which projects have the biggest potential to help the most people and if they should apply for funding and grant opportunities from the federal government.
ASCE recently released Bridging the Gap, a study examining what civil engineers have accomplished so far with infrastructure investment and where the investment gap is growing. The study identifies what this infrastructure investment gap means for each U.S. household’s disposable income, how individual industries are impacted, and what role this gap plays in our nation’s gross domestic product. It also looks at the evolving needs of our infrastructure networks as we build more resilient systems for the future.
We’re also preparing for the release of the 2025 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure. When it’s released, I hope to see more discussion on the interconnections and interdependencies of different infrastructure systems. The report’s format helps make these complex systems easier to understand, and it reminds people of ASCE’s role as a leader in the infrastructure conversation.
The new grades will lay down a marker for what’s next for public works in our country. With decades of underinvestment and project backlogs, the grades won’t all suddenly become stellar, but we’ll have a new perspective on the direction we’re headed.
Infrastructure has long been at the forefront of the political conversation locally and nationally, and civil engineers are constantly asked to maximize the benefits of infrastructure funding while minimizing its costs in ways that are effective and sustainable for development. Clearly, our work is cut out for us, but the future looks bright.
Let’s get started!
Marsia Geldert-Murphey, P.E., F.ASCE, is a regional director for Lochmueller Group. She is the 2023-24 ASCE president.
This article first appeared in the July/August 2024 issue of Civil Engineering as “Civil Engineering Advocates: Building a Better World.”
