the pipeline

Biden’s plan, if enacted by Congress, will make a $2 trillion accelerated investment that will be deployed over his first term. According to his campaign site, the far-reaching investments in infrastructure will seek to create

“Millions of good, union jobs rebuilding America’s crumbling infrastructure—from roads and bridges to green spaces and water systems to electricity grids and universal broadband—to lay a new foundation for sustainable growth, compete in the global economy, withstand the impacts of climate change, and improve public health, including access to clean air and clean water.”

As it relates to water (an often-forgotten aspect of infrastructure), Biden’s plans include a focus on investing in water infrastructure and addressing drinking water contaminants. He supports increased regulation by the EPA and states that could drive further expansion of water utility capital spending programs. Biden intends to double federal investment in clean drinking water and provide new funding for low-income areas that are struggling to replace distribution pipes and treatment facilities. These goals are consistent with the CWCC’s advocacy positions and could be very helpful to areas of NJ that meet this socio-economic priority.

Talk or Action?

The scope of the program and the ways in which it will be financed remains to be seen, but there is reason to be optimistic. A coalition lead by the US Chamber of Commerce and more than 140 national, state, and local groups—including construction organizations—has kicked off a drive for big, wide-ranging federal infrastructure legislation, with the ambitious aim of having a bill signed into law by July 4 by pushing Biden to make infrastructure a “First 100 Day” priority. Tom Donohue, the US Chamber’s chief executive officer, said in a statement that the “Build by the Fourth” coalition is urging Congress to “enact a fiscally and environmentally responsible infrastructure package as one of their first priorities.” Jason Grumet, the Bipartisan Policy Center’s president, said, “National infrastructure investment is the best idea that never happens.” He added, “Congress must seize this opportunity to jump start our economy, repair aging systems and advance the modern technologies needed to confront climate change.” Sean McGarvey, president of the North America’s Building Trades Unions—a coalition member—said the legislation should be “big, bold and bipartisan” and a “top priority” for the incoming administration and new Congress.

Major national water advocates such as the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) are also pushing water infrastructure and resiliency investment as a top priority. They are saying, like we are, that modernizing the country’s aging water and wastewater infrastructure and adapting it to meet changing climate and water use patterns might be the most essential public works project for our nation. In a letter to President-elect Joe Biden, the American Water Works Association (AWWA) urged the incoming administration to prioritize COVID-19 relief for water utilities and investment for the overall water infrastructure sector. The letter calls on the president-elect and Congress to work together on the next COVID-19 relief package and urges that it prioritize the measures the CWCC has outlined. Meanwhile, as the COVID-19 pandemic persists in the United States, AWWA and other water sector groups including the Water Environment Federation (WEF), the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), National Rural Water Association, WateReuse Association, and NACWA are calling on Congress for increased funding as well. These groups report that utilities need funding to rebound from the pandemic, which would be used to invest in critical infrastructure and help low-income customers pay their bills.

The Crystal Ball Says…

John Porcari, a former US Deputy Secretary of Transportation in the Obama Administration who advised the Biden campaign, said during a recent transportation advocacy group event that he thinks there are “real prospects for a bipartisan, broad infrastructure package” in the early days of Biden’s administration. The window for a bipartisan infrastructure compromise “is probably pretty short,” said Adrian Hemond, a Democratic strategist with the bipartisan Grassroots Midwest consulting firm in Michigan. “The first six months of the Biden administration are the best chance to get any legislation of consequence done,” he said. “There’s an incentive for every incumbent facing a potentially competitive election in 2022 to have an accomplishment or two that they can run on back home.”

Skepticism is fair and warranted. “McConnell wasn’t too excited about doing an infrastructure package with Trump, so I am not sure why he would be suddenly excited to work on an infrastructure package with Biden,” said John Feehery, a Republican strategist and partner of the Washington-based EFB Advocacy lobbying firm. “So, I am bit skeptical.” That said, with a one-year extension of highway funding to expire next year, union leaders and transportation advocates still see reason for hope. They’re looking to the prospect that McConnell and Biden—who served seven terms in the US Senate—could rediscover the bipartisan mojo that they used to seal deals during Obama administration.

US Representative Peter DeFazio, an Oregon Democrat who chairs the US House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, expressed optimism that Biden will push hard to keep his campaign commitment to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure, even if McConnell is initially recalcitrant. “The President-elect has made it clear he is ready to work with Congress to deliver results for all Americans with bold investments in infrastructure that help everyone, from large metro areas dealing with unreliable transit and soon-to-be jam-packed highways, to rural communities that suffer from bridges in poor condition and deteriorating roads,” DeFazio said in a statement.

If the past is any indicator, the first months of the Biden administration are the best chance to get any legislation of consequence done. On face value, there seems to be an incentive for every incumbent facing a competitive election in 2022 to have an accomplishment or two that they can run on back home, in which case we return your attention to our title: Why not water infra-

structure?

j.m. ahle company completes 40 years in business

By: ron Perlman

We at the JM Ahle Company are celebrating our 40th year in business. We want to offer our sincerest gratitude to the readers of this article because the loyal support of UTCA members has contributed the most to our success. In fact, UTCA contractors account for approximately 75% of our business.

Back in 1980, with a prospective customer list of highway, bridge, and utility contractors, James Milton Ahle set up shop in a vacant dirt yard in South River. He hired his sons to build makeshift offices inside the lone garage, installed a couple of phones (no emails or faxes back then), and hired a couple of young guys like me to handle inside sales and dispatch. We loaded up the yard with expansion joint, wire mesh, curing compounds, and 20-foot lengths of rebar and bought a brand new 24-foot-long truck to make deliveries. Customers soon began to request rebar cut and bent to specific lengths and shapes, and in 1982, Jim invested in an automated rebar shear line and a bending machine—then all we had to do was figure out how to install and use it! With this development, the JM Ahle Company became what it is today: a family owned and operated reinforcing bar fabricator.

Like most of you, we have tried to expand during good years and survive the lean ones. October 29, 2012 was a particular trying time for the JM Ahle Company. We were still recovering from the Great Recession when Hurricane Sandy hit and an eightfoot-high surge of floodwaters from the South River devastated the yard and office, destroying shear lines, bending tables, and forklifts. Luckily, our friends at Berto Construction had leased us a piece of their Rahway property a few years earlier where we had established a second location. So, we salvaged any files that hadn’t floated away, crammed the whole crew into the smaller Rahway location, and managed to keep the business “afloat.” We couldn’t return to South River for well over a year, and today, you can still see the highwater marks on a few of the wooden structures.

Today, twenty years after Jim Ahle retired, the JM Ahle Company operates in much the same way as it did forty years ago. Unlike most of our larger competitors who operate indoor crane facilities, the JM Ahle Company has remained an outside shop and

Doug Ahle supervises the loading of a 60-foot assembled rebar cage.

uses forklifts to move material. Logistically, our rebar operation is no different than one of your construction sites; our fabricating crew, headed by Doug Ahle, Sr. and Doug Ahle, Jr., perseveres through rain and snow, winter cold and summer heat.

The personal service we offer has also endured over the years. Whether you speak to our Sales Manager Valerie Marchi, Bookkeeper and Dispatch Kirstin Roberson, Project Manager Karrima Burch, Estimator Vatsal Patel, or General Manager Ron Perlman, you will receive immediate responses to all your inquiries. Valerie Marchi, who has been with Ahle for just three years, reflects on this accountability: “I’ve learned that our customers know that if they need an emergency order, they can call Ahle and count on us to do anything we can to keep their job going, no matter how small or large the request.” She smiled, adding, “I feel like every order I get now is an emergency!”