In a perfect world, infrastructure – roads, bridges, ports, and the like – would remain pristine indefinitely.
But this isn’t a perfect world. Infrastructure exposed to heavy use, tough weather conditions, and the eroding effects of corrosion gets beaten and battered. Things fall apart.
In the U.S. in fact, our infrastructure is in such bad shape that it gets a dismal D+ grade overall from the American Society of Civil Engineers. That mark is an embarrassment for a developed nation, but shame is the least of our problems.
Infrastructure issues cost America billions of dollars each year. Deteriorating surface transportation conditions alone are estimated to waste $101 billion in time and fuel annually, and that doesn’t even take into consideration other expenses, like vehicle damage or the environmental and safety costs associated with traffic congestion.
Like the driver who never changes his car oil and then has to replace his engine, there’s a big price tag attached to fixing the damage from decades of deferred infrastructure maintenance. The Federal Highway Administration says it will take $170 billion in capital investment per year to “significantly improve conditions and performance.”
It appears that President Donald Trump is ready to make the investment required to get Americans moving more safely and efficiently. He has floated a proposal to, “make America’s infrastructure second to none” and to streamline the process for getting the work done by rolling back regulatory hurdles.
Trump’s plan isn’t limited to surface transportation. It also extends to energy infrastructure, including pipelines and export facilities. In addition to modernization efforts, he intends to make it easier to greenlight new projects that will better connect energy producers, including domestic shale operators, to their markets. That will help leverage America’s newfound role as the world’s largest producer of both oil and natural gas – bringing, as the White House itself noted, “jobs and prosperity to millions of Americans.” In addition, it will enable American energy to reach a world eager to be free from volatile and hostile suppliers.
Investing in modern energy transportation will help us as an energy exporter to reduce the world’s dependence on hostile and volatile producers while assuring our own energy security.
Although the Trump administration has been aggressively encouraging development of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipeline, the President also intends to simplify the process for bringing new pipelines online. Expedience aside, the new administration has been clear that there will be no shortcuts when it comes to safety. Pipelines have long been the safest form of energy transportation. Pipeline companies undertake extraordinary integrity efforts to make sure that product traveling on America’s 2.6 million miles of pipelines make it to their destination without incident.
President Trump’s infrastructure plan, which will be largely funded by public-private partnerships, is expected to create 2 million jobs and bolster the American economy. According to analysis by Moody’s, every dollar invested in improving transportation and power grid efficiencies will return $1.44. That’s a rate of return rarely produced by most investments.
Trump’s proposal will improve the lives of everyone who travels on America’s roads and highways. And by including energy infrastructure in the plan, the President is ensuring that Americans and the world will have unfettered access to energy.
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About Canary, LLC
Canary, LLC, is one of the largest private wellhead service companies in North America. Canary serves its clients and the public through quality drilling and production services, local charitable endeavors, and educational campaigns concerning energy policies. Visit canaryUSA.com, fb.com/CanaryConnects, or @CanaryConnects
