Last year I suggested Four Tips for User Friendly and Maintainable Fish Facilities, based on my experience as a construction manager. This is a topic worth revisiting, and it applies to many types of projects beyond fish facilities as well. I hope you find these ideas useful!

Land development is my passion. I and many of my peers chose civil engineering for a career because we wanted to do work we could be proud of, and land development gives us that feeling. We also recognize that land development adds value to our communities in a variety of ways, such as increased property tax rolls, a greater quantity of real estate inventory that appreciates over time, and the construction of public infrastructure via private investment. Land development is a noble undertaking because it adds value to the places where we live, work, and play.

With infrastructure aging while traffic volumes grow, agencies are continually pressed to upgrade roadway infrastructure. Unfortunately, transportation funding has not kept up with inflation or the cost of construction materials, and while most people recognize this problem, our nation hasn’t yet found the willpower to change course.

If you bring up the topic of drones in random conversation, you’re likely to receive a variety of responses. Some will be excited at the possibilities. Some will express hesitancy until the rules have been cleared up. And some will issue stern warnings about a dystopian future where our every step is watched by machines in the sky.

Count me as a member of the excited group.