The Canadian government encourages and supports the maintenance and development of infrastructure to ensure the citizens have what they need to grow and flourish as a community. Structures like bridges, wastewater facilities and roads are absolutely essential to economic growth and human health. Communication and transportation networks can have a dramatic impact on the economic growth in the region.
However, the infrastructure gap and its impacts are strongly felt by Canadian communities as they put efforts to face economic, environmental, and societal challenges. These challenges are felt more by some segments of society than others. Extreme weather, climate change, and rapid deterioration of concrete threaten existing infrastructure across the country. These factors have an alarming impact on the lifespan, maintenance, cost, and rehabilitation of infrastructure.
In 2013, floods in Alberta destroyed approximately 1000 kilometer of roads and damaged hundreds of bridges. Coastal regions are more vulnerable to the effects of natural disasters, corrosive environment, and rising temperatures.
Economic growth depends on efficient infrastructure
The most critical challenges Canada and the United States face today is the steady deterioration of public infrastructure: sewers, bridges, roads, waterside structures, etc. Governments have to deal with the heavy annual maintenance costs annually just to maintain the existing structures. Bridge delays and thousands of Canadians stuck in their vehicles due to traffic congestion are the areas where innovation and investment can improve productivity and quality of life.
Need for sustainability and foresightedness
Canada needs a long-term and strategic infrastructure investment strategy to develop sustainable and economically viable infrastructure. Since efficient and long-lasting infrastructure is core to economic competitiveness, it’s impossible to achieve sustainable growth without investment and implementing innovative construction strategies.
Unfortunately, public investment in infrastructure couldn’t keep up with our economic and infrastructural needs. For instance, the transportation infrastructure in major Canadian cities can hardly meet pubic demands. The service life of highway structure is only four to five decades which is alarmingly low. A large percentage of public structures either require heavy maintenance or they need to be completely replaced. While the government has to spend billions of dollars in order to upgrade and maintain existing structures, lack of innovation and sustainable construction materials is contributing to this decay.
There is a dire need to develop and implement advanced construction materials to build concrete infrastructure that can last for at least a century with low maintenance. Advanced composite materials like glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) can help the government replace outdated traditional materials and resolve these longstanding structural issues. For example, GFRP fiberglass rebar is a promising alternative to traditional steel. The government should encourage the construction industry to adopt these advanced products and focus on long-term strategies.
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