The Infrastructure Show - Podcasts

Transformers – Their Vital Role in Ensuring Electric Grid Reliability Mar 01, 2025

Transformers step-down voltage from high levels most efficient for long distance transmission to lower levels for safe distribution to homes and businesses. Having enough transformers for replacement and to support expansion of the electrical grid is essential for ensuring reliability of the power system, but currently there is a shortage of transformers.

A study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), a U.S. Department of Energy lab, assessed the factors affecting demand for distribution transformers. To tell us about the findings of this analysis is one of the authors, Killian McKenna, Group Manager of Electrical Engineering for NREL. Killian earned a PhD in Electrical Engineering from University College Dublin.

Rebuilding Chicago Transit Authority’s Red and Purple Rail Lines Feb 01, 2025

The Chicago Transit Authority’s $2.1 billion Red and Purple Line Modernization Project (RPM) is rebuilding a 5.6-mile elevated rail rapid transit structure and four stations, ensuring structural integrity, expanding capacity, and improving ride quality along a corridor on the North Side of Chicago. Included in this six-year project is removal of a failing embankment and returning land to the community.

Here to talk with us about this project is Grace Ohs, Chicago Transit Authority RPM vice president and project lead. Grace earned her BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois.

Tsunami Evacuation Towers – Reaching for the Sky to Save Lives Jan 01, 2025

Earthquakes can generate massive tsunamis that pose severe risks to coastal communities. The 2004 earthquake off Sumatra spawned a tsunami that killed an estimates 228,000 people. Facing its own tsunami risk, the Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe built an evacuation tower serving the coastal community of Tokeland, Washington. This tower can hold more than 400 people, and it is a model for vertical towers that might be constructed in other tsunami hazard zones.

Here to describe this project is Maximilian Dixon, Earthquake Program Manager for the Washington Military Department’s Emergency Management Division. Maximilian earned three degrees from the University of Washington: a BS in Environmental Policy and master’s degrees in urban planning and infrastructure planning and management.

Digital Twins – Modeling Infrastructure Systems for Design, Operations, and Management Dec 01, 2024

Digital twins are virtual representations of real systems used to test designs and operating policies in safe environments prior to implementation or offline. Applications include a variety of public and private facilities, notably airports and operating systems such as water supply and manufacturing processes. Much of the work is centered in architectural and engineering firms, with its foundation in Building Information Modeling (BIM).

To understand digital twins and their infrastructure applications, we talk with Howard Shotz, a Vice President at Arora Engineers, where he leads the Global Smart Infrastructure practice. A graduate in architecture from Temple University, Howard is former Director of the Digital Twin and Digital Advisory Practice at Parsons Corporation.

Dam Failures in the U.S. – the Risks and Risk Management Nov 01, 2024

Dam failures are frightening, and they can become disasters. Just how common – or uncommon – are the failures of dams in the U.S.? What are the contributing factors and are there ways we mitigate them?

To learn the facts about dam failures, we talk with John Roche, who is Chief of the Dam Safety Permits Division of the Maryland Department of the Environment. John’s work on dams includes emergency preparedness and response, public safety strategy, policy development, hydrology and hydraulics, and natural resources management. John earned his BS in Civil Engineering and MS in Geotechnical Engineering from University of New Hampshire. He’s a registered Professional Engineer in multiple states and is currently Secretary and Board Member of the Association of State Dam Safety Officials.

The Eads Bridge at 150: A Story of Innovation in Design, Materials, and International Finance Oct 01, 2024

The Eads Bridge, opened in 1874, is the oldest functioning bridge across the Mississippi River. This St. Louis crossing, named after its designer/builder, James Eads, pioneered the use of steel, then a new material; the construction of long-span arches without falsework; and deep underwater foundations. Eads himself led the creation of an elaborate international financing scheme to pay for the bridge and promising large profits for its investors. Today the Eads Bridge carries 4 lanes of road traffic and the Metrolink light rail line.

Bringing us the history of this National Historic Landmark is John K. Brown, whose recent book, Spanning the Gilded Age; James Eads and the Great Steel Bridge, presents this story in detail, addressing financing of the economic expansion of the post-Civil War United States; the self-dealing and conflicting interests of the banking, railroad, construction, and materials industries of the time; as well the beginning of an integrated, standardized U.S. rail network. John is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Science, Technology, and Society at the University of Virginia. He earned three degrees in history: a BA from Emory and MA and PhD degrees from University of Virginia.

Saving Intercity Bus Terminals Sep 01, 2024

Intercity bus terminals are key links in the national bus network. We’re losing some these terminals due to pressures for more lucrative land uses. The announced closing of Chicago’s downtown Greyhound station will be impactful because about half a million passengers pass through it annually. How important are these terminals, not just locally, but in the national intercity bus network? Is there a need for public intervention to save them?

To explore the contributing factors, the implications of closures, and potential interventions, we talk with Professor Joseph Schwieterman of DePaul University in Chicago. Joe is Founding Director of DePaul’s Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development, and the foremost scholar on intercity bus transportation in the U.S. He has a BS degree from Purdue, an MS in Transportation from Northwestern, and a Ph.D. in public policy from the University of Chicago.

Big Infrastructure for Big Science - The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment Aug 01, 2024

Scientific research needs supporting infrastructure – some small, some big, but rarely simple. The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment – DUNE – will study the neutrino, one of the smallest atomic particles that is a fundamental building block of the universe. DUNE will send neutrinos generated at the Long Baseline Neutrino Facility near Chicago 800 miles though the earth to a massive detector in South Dakota, 1500 meters underground, that will collect data for scientists around the world.

To explain the experiment itself, the infrastructure that will make it possible, and how that infrastructure is being built, we’re talking with Ron Ray, Particle Physicist at Fermilab and Deputy Project Director of the LBNF/DUNE project team, to join us. Ron earned his Ph.D. in particle physics from the University of California-Irvine and worked as a scientific researcher at Northwestern University.

Let Drones Do It – Taking on Bridge Inspection Jul 01, 2024

Bridge inspectors like to get up close and personal to detect small defects that could grow into disasters. The configuration of bridges – their size, height, and locations – can make the job difficult and dangerous. But rapid advances in aerial drones are making it possible to inspect difficult-to-access areas of bridges quickly and safely, reducing inspection costs and supporting better bridge maintenance.

To update us on recent applications of drones for bridge inspection, we’re talking with Barritt Lovelace, who is Director of Unmanned Aerial Systems, Artificial Intelligence and Reality Modeling at Collins Engineers in St. Paul, Minnesota.

The Global Positioning Satellite System – Fifty Years of Success Jun 01, 2024

GPS, the Global Positioning System, is now half a century old. This extraordinary technological advance routinely guides planes, ships, trains, automobiles, bikers and pedestrians with high precision. A Defense Department technology, GPS became widely available to the public in 1990. It has displaced and replaced some older navigation systems and brought revolutionary change to location and timing tasks.

To review some of the benefits GPS has brought, we talk with Michael Gallaher, of RTI International, who is co-author of a study of the benefits of GPS for the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Locking the Door on Cyberattacks May 01, 2024

Almost every major system we rely on seems to be vulnerable to cyberattacks from scammers, criminals, and nation states threatening our national security. Reports of cyberattacks disrupting and even destroying critical infrastructure systems are increasingly common.

To understand the cyber risks that threaten our essential service systems and how we can defend against them, we talk with Gregory Falco, Assistant Professor in the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Cornell University and Director of the Aerospace ADVERSARY Laboratory, which designs and develops next-generation autonomous, secure and resilient space infrastructure.

Delivering Energy on Demand: Grid-Scale Storage Apr 01, 2024

Energy from wind and solar sources is available when nature permits, but the demand for energy is based on the cyclical needs of people and their activities. To make renewable energy work, and to manage the normal daily mismatches between supply and demand, we need to shift energy in time from when it is available to when it is needed. That calls for grid-scale storage.

To explain large-scale energy storage strategies, we talk with Nate Blair, group manager of distributed systems and storage analysis at the USDOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado.

When Permafrost isn’t Permanent – Building Infrastructure in Cold Regions Mar 01, 2024

In very cold places, like Alaska, Northern parts of Canada and Europe, building infrastructure means building on permafrost, perennially frozen ground. Permafrost provides reliable foundations for buildings and highways as long as it remains frozen. But warming temperatures driven by climate change may threaten existing and new infrastructure founded on permafrost.

To help us understand the problems and potential solutions in this dynamic risk environment, we talk with Billy Connor, Director of the Arctic Infrastructure Development Center at the University of Alaska.

The Bay Lights – Bridges as Art Feb 01, 2024

Spectacular bridges can be focal points of their host cities, reminding us that unique infrastructure can also be unique art. Lighting those bridges can carry their aesthetic value into the night. In 2013, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge was illuminated with a 25,000-LED dynamic display called The Bay Lights, and its public appeal kept it lighted until 2023.

In this podcast we talk with Ben Davis, Founder of Illuminate, which developed the Bay Lights plan, about the original concept, some of the challenges of lighting massive structures, and plans for its future.

The Port of Duluth-Superior – Our Largest Freshwater Seaport Jan 01, 2024

The Port of Duluth-Superior, located at the western end of Lake Superior, is a national and international cargo hub, serving the Great Lakes and, through the St. Lawrence Seaway, the rest of the world. It supports flows of bulk cargoes such as grain, iron ore and coal, and project cargo – large construction equipment.

To learn about its unique role in logistics and the challenges it faces when winter sets in, we talk with Deb DeLuca, Executive Director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority.

Giving Streets Back to People – Tactical Urbanism in Atlanta Dec 01, 2023

Some U.S. Cities are taking back streets from exclusive use by motor vehicles to protect and prioritize vulnerable road users – pedestrians and bicyclists – and to enhance neighborhood livability. This process is advanced under the banner of Complete Streets, streets designed and operated for all users. Atlanta, Georgia’s variation is called Tactical Urbanism, a low-cost, quick-build approach designed to change the overall use and feel of streets and public spaces.

To learn how Atlanta uses tactical urbanism, we talk with Betty Smoot-Madison, Deputy Commissioner of Planning for the Atlanta Department of Transportation.

Getting PFAS Out of Our Drinking Water (fixed) Nov 03, 2023

PFAS, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, the forever chemicals, are commonly used as protective coatings because they resist heat, stains and water. Because PFAS do not normally degrade in the environment, when products containing them are discarded, they become nearly ubiquitous pollutants in our water supply. Can they be removed? If so, how can we do it and what will it cost?

To get answers to these questions, we talk with Mohamed Ateia Ibrahim, Environmental Engineer and Group Leader at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response.

PennDOT Rebuilds I-95 with Recycled Bottles in 12 Days Oct 01, 2023

On June 11, 2023, a gasoline truck caught fire under I-95 in Philadelphia, essentially melting a major section of the primary roadway through the center of the Northeast Corridor. Facing what looked like a months-long reconstruction process, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation assembled a quick action team to implement an extraordinary repair effort, built on interagency cooperation and a unique recycled material, restoring I-95 to full use in only 12 days.

Telling us about this quick rebuild is Lou Belmonte, District Executive for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

Low Water on the Mississippi Blocks Farm Trade Sep 01, 2023

Fluctuations in water levels on our inland waterways system can affect the movement of bulk freight, particularly agricultural products. Low waters, as occurred in the fall of 2022 on the lower Mississippi River, limited the flow of freight and increased shipper costs.

To learn more about the causes, consequences, and responses to such disruptions, we’re talking with Mike Steenhoek, Executive Director of the Soy Transportation Coalition. Mike is a member of the Department of Commerce Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness, the Transportation Research Board Committee on Inland Water Transportation, and the Iowa Department of Transportation Freight Advisory Council.

The New Frederick Douglass Tunnel – Improving Amtrak Services Aug 01, 2023

The 150-year-old Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel, Amtrak’s oldest, carries traffic for Amtrak, the Maryland Area Rail Commuter (MARC) Service, as well as Norfolk Southern freight operations. This tunnel is a major bottleneck for Northeast corridor rail traffic, and Amtrak is rebuilding it and adding a new, passenger-only tunnel named after abolitionist Frederick Douglass.

In this podcast we learn about this large program from Mark Milton, Senior Director, Capital Delivery for Amtrak, who is managing final design and construction for the overall program. Mark’s a civil engineer with many years of experience in design.

[Correction to interview conversation: all railroad grades on this project are less than 2.0%]

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