AET Geotechnical Engineer Contributes to Minnesota’s First Infrastructure Report Card

August 23, 2019
Construction Services, Geotechnical, News

Members of the ASCE Minnesota Section Infrastructure Report Card Committee traveled to Washington, D.C., alongside members of ASCE’s National organization. From L to R: Jennifer Gora, ASCE Public Policy Committee; Ariel Christenson, ASCE-MN Director of Communications; Jason Staebell, ASCE-MN President; Katie Zadrozny, ASCEMN Young Member’s Group Secretary; Seth Spychala, ASCE State Government Relations Captain; Chris Rousseau, ASCE Region 3 Governor; Craig Bursch, ASCE Duluth Section Government Relations Chair.

AET engineer, Katie Zadrozny, discusses the Report Card project and the evaluation of data on dams in Minnesota…

In October 2018, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) released Minnesota’s first Infrastructure Report Card—the state earned a “C.”

Published every four years by many states, infrastructure report cards are simple tools that policy makers, businesses, and residents can use to understand the condition of a state’s infrastructure. Our very own Katie Zadrozny, PE, a geotechnical engineer, was a member of the ASCE Minnesota committee that produced our state’s first report card.

Here’s what she had to say about her experience.

AE: When and how did you get involved with the ASCE Minnesota Infrastructure Report Card?

KZ: I’m a member of the ASCE Minnesota Section and I’ve been part of the report card committee, which is comprised of nearly 20 volunteers, since late 2016. Minnesota had not yet produced an Infrastructure Report Card, and we wanted to change that.

AE: What did your work on the committee entail?

KZ: As the committee’s local geotechnical engineer, I focused on gathering (publicly available) information about Minnesota’s dams. I met regularly with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and received the majority of my data from this agency. I also reviewed resources from the Army Corps of Engineers. To develop the category letter grade, we used formulas developed by the ASCE national organization.

AE: What’s the committee’s goal for the Report Card?

KZ: We’re all very proud to have been a part of this first Report Card for Minnesota. Talking about the inadequacies of our state’s infrastructure can be difficult, but these conversations are necessary in order to improve our future. We hope the Report Card will raise public awareness as to the importance of maintaining and improving our infrastructure and be an effective advocacy tool for our legislators. There’s been great response so far, and we’re hopeful that our efforts will lead to real improvements in the coming years, as well as build interest for the next report card, scheduled for 2022. Stay tuned!

For more on the 2018 ASCE Minnesota Infrastructure Report Card visit https://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/state-item/minnesota/

Katie Zadrozny, Geotechnical Engineer, is based in our St Paul, Minnesota office. She can be reached at kzadrozny@amengtest.com