In this section, Informed Infrastructure compiles infographics from trusted sources that reveal insight on infrastructure spending. We also compile some of the top infrastructure stories that shouldn’t be missed. For ongoing news coverage, turn to Informed Infrastructure online (www.informedinfrastructure.com), our Twitter feed (@IInfrastructure) and our weekly e-newsletter.

Hurricanes Hit U.S. Infrastructure Hard

A great deal of news and information about the hurricanes that hit the United States in 2017 has been published in Informed Infrastructure and across countless other media outlets. The following is a very brief summary of a few of those stories:

Zekelman Sets Up Matching Relief Fund

Zekelman Industries, a steel pipe and tube manufacturer, is supporting the American Red Cross efforts for relief for those impacted by Hurricane Harvey and Irma. The company will match donations by its employees, suppliers and customers up to $250,000. Visit this website to donate: www.crowdrise.com/o/en/team/zekelman-industries-hurricane-harvey-relief-support.

Recovery Efforts in Caribbean

In the wake of Hurricane Irma’s destructive path through the Caribbean, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is supporting storm-recovery efforts in the U.S. Virgin Islands with a fully staffed mobile air-traffic-control tower at Cyril E. King International Airport in St. Thomas. The existing tower was badly damaged by the storm, and controllers were managing air traffic from a tent on the airfield for several days before the mobile tower arrived.

Links to Sample Stories on Informed Infrastructure

FAA’s Hurricane Harvey Update

informedinfrastructure.com/33767/faas-hurricane-harvey-update

FHWA Sends Texas $25M in Emergency Funds

informedinfrastructure.com/33873/fhwa-sends-texas-25m-in-emergency-funds

New Airbus Aerial Technology Impacts Hurricane Irma Recovery Efforts

informedinfrastructure.com/33985/new-airbus-aerial-technology-impacts-hurricane-irma-recovery-efforts/

Georgia Experiences Severe Flooding, High Winds and Extreme Wind Gusts

informedinfrastructure.com/34019/shelter-in-place-georgia-experiences-severe-flooding-high-winds-and-extreme-wind-gusts

U.S. Water Crisis Infographic

The water infrastructure in the United States is more than 100 years old, so an upgrade is long overdue. The American Water Works Association estimates that replacing the obsolete water infrastructure in the country would cost at least $1 trillion.

The accompanying infographic to illustrate this problem was created by Eastern Kentucky University’s Online Safety degree program.

A new HNTB survey finds higher taxes and tolls have powerful support when revenues are guaranteed for infrastructure. Public-private partnerships are seen as part of the solution.

Reinforce standard practice and basic principles needed to prepare quality design and construction documents for a successful infrastructure project with the new, second edition of Principles of Applied Civil Engineering Design: Producing Drawings, Specifications, and Cost Estimates for Heavy Civil Projects. Author Ying-Kit Choi, Ph.D., P.E., draws on more than 30 years of engineering and design experience to help readers grasp the interrelationships among contract documents, site characterization, design and construction documents, and construction cost estimates. Visit the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) website to obtain a copy: asce.org.

President Trump will not move forward with plans to form a 15-member Presidential Advisory Council on Infrastructure, various news agencies reported, citing comments by a White House official.

Trump had announced in a July 19, 2017, executive order that he would create the advisory group, saying the council would study the scope and effectiveness of federal infrastructure funding as well as the support and delivery of infrastructure projects. Its focus was to include transportation projects and extend to other sectors including renewable energy, electricity transmission, broadband and pipelines.

However, Bloomberg, which first reported news of its cancellation, also noted that Trump had not yet formally appointed anyone to serve on it.