Above: Gottheimer appointed as an Honorary Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers, joined by ASCE President Dr. Dennis D. Truax.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) unanimously appointed U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) as an Honorary Fellow for his leadership in helping shape and pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. This historic legislation will invest in improving America’s crumbling roads, bridges, tunnels, rails, mass transit, broadband, water, and more — including critical investment for New Jersey. The bill will also help create millions of jobs for the next decade. 

Only 38 individuals have received this designation in ASCE’s 170 year history.

“The projects, improvements, and repairs that the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill will make possible cannot get done without the hard work, dedication, and input of the American Society of Civil Engineers — thousands of members working hard to improve America’s infrastructure,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5). “This once-in-a-century legislation is a great example of how our government is supposed to work: coming together, across party lines, to solve problems for our families, for local communities, and for our nation.”

Gottheimer continued, “For New Jersey and our hard-working families, this bipartisan bill will help build the new Gateway Train Tunnel, fix our crumbling roads, bridges, rail, and NJ Transit, help boost climate resiliency, invest in our ports, expand broadband access to the unconnected, and get lead out of our children’s drinking water. Now, we can finally get shovels in the ground and people to work.”

ASCE’s most recent report card gave America’s infrastructure a C-. In New Jersey, a third of bridges are considered unsafe and the state has the third worst roads in the country.

The legislation provides $550 billion in new federal infrastructure investments over the next five years, marking the country’s largest investment in infrastructure in nearly a century and also addresses all 17 categories in ASCE’s 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure.

This week, ASCE awarded honorary fellowships to four Members of Congress for their work to pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, including Gottheimer, Congressman John Katko (NY-24), Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), and Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ).

“These four members of Congress worked tirelessly for months across party lines to iron out the many details of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and fight for its final passage,” said Dennis D. Truax, ASCE President 2022. “They recognized that the United States cannot remain economically competitive and American communities cannot thrive without significant federal investment in bridges, water pipes, the electric grid, and other critical infrastructure assets.”

Founded in 1852, the ASCE represents more than 150,000 civil engineers worldwide and is America’s oldest national engineering society. ASCE works to raise awareness of the need to maintain and modernize the nation’s infrastructure using sustainable and resilient practices, advocates for increasing and optimizing investment in infrastructure, and improve engineering knowledge and competency. 

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