<p>While theoretically a building can be designed overseas, it’s not practical. The engineer would still have to be licensed in the state in which the structure is located. With the experience, education and continuing education requirements, it is very difficult for a random engineer in another country to do this. It would have to be someone who has spent at least a few years working with other engineers licensed in the U.S. </p>
<p>You also lose the ability to visit the construction site. Any decent engineer will tell you this is important. My structural engineer visits my site every week or two to review design issues, see them firsthand and figure out a resolution. When we were doing foundations, the geotechnical engineer was on site every day performing inspections.</p>
<p>Yes, the nation’s infrastructure will have to be fixed, but nobody wants to pay for it. New Jersey’s governor recently brought a project to a screeching halt that would have doubled the rail capacity into New York City because of potential cost overruns. I wouldn’t have had such an issue with this, but this was done after a quarter of a billion dollars of work was put in place. $271 million dollars was already spent for absolutely nothing. </p>
<p>I’ve heard a lot of talk, but nothing is being put in place. What will end up happening is bridges and roads will deteriorate to such a poor condition that they have to be closed before the politicians will spend the money to fix it up (at which point the costs will have multiplied many times over). So yes, either way there will be work. It’s just a matter of whether the govenment wants to pay less now or more later.</p>