"Go low and slow, dude," suggested a man from Los Angeles, referring to my 1949 lead sled, a Detroit original. I was in Big Sur on the Pacific Coast Highway, in 2014, circumnavigating America to explore the nation’s infrastructure. As I headed south to L.A. on the last leg of my 14,000-mile journey, the phrase "low and slow" stuck in my craw.
In a couple of weeks, Aileen Cho, senior editor of transportation for ENR, and I will be driving "low and slow" across America, from New York City to Los Angeles, through the heart of the country. During this trip, I will be acting as an ENR correspondent, which excites me because ENR has always slaked my thirst for great infrastructure stories just as, for more than 100 years, it has been feeding the built-world frenzy of owners, engineers, contractors, planners, professors and students.