As Infrastructure Hiring Gaps Persist, Pittsburgh Author Says the Fix Starts With Who Gets in the Door

Esther Franklin, author of "Bridging the Gap," offers a practical roadmap into transportation careers, including paths that don't require a four-year degree.

PITTSBURGH, Nov. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- With Congress facing a Dec. 11 deadline to move a long-term highway bill, the debate in Washington is about dollars and programs. Pittsburgh author Esther Franklin says the question that decides whether any of it gets built is who will do the work.

Franklin's book, "Bridging the Gap: Breaking Barriers and Building Pathways to Transportation Careers" (Forbes Books, March 2025), is a career guide to the transportation industry and the people it has historically overlooked. It covers five fields: engineering, architecture, right-of-way acquisition, appraisal and title work. It also explains how the industry's entry barriers work and how federal programs and non-degree routes can open doors.

Franklin draws on her own experience. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, the "City of Bridges," she built a career in real estate, title and legal research before moving into highway infrastructure work, where she specializes in right-of-way acquisition. The book connects the history of federal highway policy to the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and shows readers how to turn that investment into careers.

"Bridging the Gap" has been praised by transportation-sector voices, including Camille C. Williams of the Advisory Committee on Transportation Equity.

Franklin is available for interviews on:

• Entry paths into transportation careers without a traditional degree
• How infrastructure funding turns into jobs, and who gets them
• Building a more representative transportation workforce
• Right-of-way acquisition, one of the industry's least-known career fields

"Bridging the Gap" (238 pages, $29.99 hardcover) is available through major retailers and as an audiobook. Learn more at estherfranklin.com.

About Esther Franklin
Esther Franklin is an author and serial entrepreneur with more than a decade of experience in the real estate sector and 20 years in legal and real estate title work. Another area of her expertise is highway infrastructure. Esther specializes in right-of-way acquisition work. She is the founder and CEO of ALROWS, LLC, which works with both the private and public sectors to assist in the process of roadway improvements, engineering and construction of bridges, highway design and road maintenance.

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Meghan Krein
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SOURCE InkFox Publicity