The Cost of Moving Forward: A 4-Point Plan to Preserve State Infrastructure

March 29, 2016

In March 2016, Bill Smith, Jr., PE (Stanford White), Matt Parker, PE (Freudenberg IT), Roger Woods, Jr., PE (IBI Group) and Chris M. Martin, Jr., PE (McKim & Creed) published a white paper that outlined four ways the State of North Carolina should move forward with funding infrastructure repair and renovation. This paper was subsequently presented at the 2016 State Construction Conference.

The State of North Carolina owns and manages nearly 12,000 buildings. Unfortunately, the state’s deferred price tag on maintaining, repairing and renovating those facilities exceeds $4 billion. “This underfunding of much-needed repairs and renovations has cost the state more in energy losses, collateral dysfunction and high-priced emergency repairs than if funded adequately in the first place,” the authors contend.

North Carolina’s continuing growth, along with the recently passed Connect NC bond, will add millions of square feet to the state’s facility inventory.

The authors of “The Cost of Moving Forward” present a 4-point plan to move the state forward, which includes:

1. Get rid of it.

2. Fix it.

3. Invest in it.

4. Manage it.

For more information, contact Chris M. Martin, Jr., PE, senior project engineer, to learn more about preserving the long-term integrity of North Carolina’s facilities.