James Pratt: Message from the Long Island Contractors' Association chairman

In state houses and on the floor of Congress, it has become obvious to even the most casual observer that our nation's infrastructure is under unprecedented assault. There is no political will to appropriate the dollars that will permit us to protect what we have, much less build for the future. We are in political "lock down" mode, and that means advocates of public works need to pursue an alternative agenda that, at the very least, will allow the construction industry to work smarter. One strategy is to extract savings from a cumbersome government oversight process that has perfected the science of spinning its wheels. Because of layers of mind numbing paperwork, it can take years to move a project from approval to dedication. And each moment that slips by is yet another taxpayer dollar lost to bureaucracy. Capturing those dollars and reallocating them for construction would put millions of dollars to actual work. Most of the burden comes in the form of federal regulation, circulars and reports that can fill an entire library. There are simultaneous, redundant and ever expanding layers of oversight that have directly accounted for ever increasing expenses that lead to more oversight and little roadwork. In the past, there have been repeated calls for streamlining the federal regulatory process with little to show for it. But, our nation's infrastructure is now facing a crisis of unprecedented scope, and without finding new sources of dollars, the steady erosion of our roads and bridges will continue unabated. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has just begun a regulatory review of its oversight programs with the stated intent of improving their management of infrastructure projects. It couldn't come at a better time, but the DOT needs to appreciate that this is one initiative that must yield genuine results, creating cost savings that directly aid the creation of roads and bridges. In addition, once Washington has created a model for oversight efficiencies, our state governments should use it as a roadmap to achieve similar management goals for their own infrastructure projects. For years, the Long Island Contractors' Association has been a staunch advocate of comprehensive, cost effective oversight of infrastructure projects. Against the new and harsh political landscape, achieving that goal will make the difference in whether our roads and bridges are capable of meeting the economic challenges of the 21st Century. James Pratt, III, is the chairman of the Long Island Contractors' Association and president of Pratt Brothers, Bay Shore, NY