From the American Society of Civil Engineers:
ASCE believes that all projects supported by an economic stimulus investment must meet the following fundamental criteria:
• Projects must create and sustain employment increases;
• Investments must provide long term benefits to the public (such as congestion relief);
• Long term maintenance and upkeep needs of all infrastructure projects – existing and new – must be taken into account; and
• To ensure accountability and transparency an auditing program must be established to review the program and measure desired outcomes.
As the investments are made, proper attention must be paid to the prioritization and selection of these projects to ensure that the criteria are met. The following principles should guide selection decisions:
• The project should deliver measurable improvements in public health, safety and quality of life;
• The project should provide substantial, broad-based economic benefit;
• The project should be designed and built in a sustainable and cost-effective manner, and proper consideration must be given to life-cycle costs; and
• The project should have a significant environmental benefit such as area restoration, improved air quality through reduced congestion and better watershed management through eliminating vulnerabilities in a system.
