Our Best First Impression: Better Infrastructure

by Jim Foil

BOOM! That's the sound of your tire exploding in a pothole. Bad news under any circumstances. But especially if an out- of-town investor you are trying to woo is riding in your car.

A first impression is a lasting impression. That statement holds true for individuals and for com-munities alike. What kind of impression does it make when your car is swallowed up by a pothole as deep as the Grand Canyon? Today, we live in an ultra-competitive world where communities vie against each other for economic engines--a new factory, a prestigious association, redevelopment capital, etc. The first impressions we make as a community could help make these opportunities happen or bring them to a halt.

If the factory owner, association president or investment banker encounters a community with unreliable power, limited water resources, or crumbling roads, the chances of that person investing into that community are significantly diminished.

According to the World Development Report, published by the World Bank: "Infrastructure represents, if not the engine, then the ‘wheels' of economic activity. It is evident that there is a strong association between the availability of certain infrastructure--telecommunications (in particular), power, paved roads and access to safe water--and per capita GDP."

In Missouri, it sometimes looks as if the "wheels" are going to literally fall off as our roads and highways crumble beneath our feet. A new study by the Surface Transportation Project lists Missouri roads as the second worst in the nation.

Meanwhile, the state of Kansas highway system consistently ranks in the top five in the nation. However, many future projects are threatened by the possibility of reduced funding. The following is from a recent Kansas Department of Transportation news release:

Approximately $550 million in highway improvement projects will be eliminated if the Legislature doesn't approve Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' plan to complete the Comprehensive Transportation Program (CTP), Trans-portation Secretary Deb Miller said.

"I have done everything I can to avoid this day," Miller said at a Topeka news conference. "But the time has come to face facts. If the Legislature doesn't approve the plan that Governor Sebelius has proposed to complete the CTP, we will be forced to start cutting projects. I want to make that absolutely clear to legislators and to the communities they represent."

As debate continues in both Topeka and Jefferson City regarding funding for the states' roads and highways, the city of Kansas City, Mo., is moving forward on two fronts.

Burns & McDonnell is proud to be a partner with the City of Kansas City, Missouri, and MWH Americas in the new Capital Improvements Management Office to dramatically accelerate the completion of nearly a quarter of a billion dollars in infrastructure projects. More than half of these projects are for road improvements.

Step two in City Manager Wayne Cauthen's aggressive plan to improve the city's infrastructure is a $300 million bond issue, most of which will go toward repairing long-neglected infrastructure.

Keep in mind as you head to the polls on April 6, you are not just voting for better roads, safer bridges and a cleaner city--you are voting to invest in your community so that others may deem it worthy to invest in. Like any investment, this "seed" money will grow exponentially in value.

And a great deal of investment is needed. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), more than $1.6 trillion should be invested in our nation's infrastructure over the next five years.

The average "grade" given to the state of America's infrastructure is D+. Here are some selected comments from ASCE's 2003 Infrastructure Progress Report.

"The nation is failing to even maintain the substandard conditions we already have, a dangerous condition that is affecting highway safety as well as the health of the economy."

"The infrastructure of the nation's 54,000 drinking water facilities is aging rapidly."

"Over the last two decades, electrical transmission investment has decreased by $115 million a year. The electric transmission line grid has not been upgraded to meet growth demands."

Pretty gloomy, right? Well, maybe not. From a marketing perspective all of these trends represent an opportunity. If our local communities buck this national trend of ignoring infrastructure improvement, then we have a real chance to stand out from the pack. Not as the community with the big potholes, but as the city without them.

Jim Foil is Senior Vice President with Burns & McDonnell. He may be reached at 816.822.3180 or by email at jfoil@burnsmcd.com.