Highway Expansion
Existing Roads Slide Into Decrepitude as States Splurge on Highway Expansion
Got a road that needs fixing in your state? Don't hold your breath. Chances are your state DOT has been busy building new roads, while neglecting maintenance.
June 1, 2011
Study: Building Roads to Cure Congestion Is an Exercise in Futility
We hear it all the time: The road lobby insists that the only way to reduce mind-numbing traffic congestion on the roads they built is to build new roads. Federal funding gives huge blank checks to state DOTs, which tend to prioritize road building over transit, bridge maintenance or anything else. But mounting evidence suggests that building new roads won't do anything to alleviate congestion.
May 31, 2011
Questionable Highway Projects Escape Budget Scrutiny in Wisconsin
A $125 million "road to nowhere." Another $100+ million for a bypass around a town of 2,711. Welcome to the era of "fiscal austerity" in Gov. Scott Walker's Wisconsin.
May 25, 2011
Third Houston Outerbelt Would Turn Prairies Into Texas Toast
There's a place just outside Houston where the vinyl siding and attached garages thin out and recede into grasslands.
April 28, 2011
Put Your (Transportation) Money Where Your Mouth Is, Gov. McDonnell
On Earth Day last Friday, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell issued a “transportation challenge” to the people of his state: to “try a form of transportation other than driving alone once every two weeks.” The language he used would please any reformer:
April 26, 2011
Scott Walker’s “Broke” Wisconsin Breaking the Bank for Highways
This article was written by Steve Hiniker, executive director of 1,000 Friends of Wisconsin, and was reprinted with permission of that organization. It originally appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
April 22, 2011
The Columbia River Crossing: A Highway Boondoggle in Disguise
The Columbia River Crossing is a mega-project by any standard. A bridge replacement, a highway widening, and light rail project wrapped into one, the CRC is a proposal to span the distance between Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington. With a $3.2 billion price tag -- by conservative estimates -- it would be the largest public works project the region has ever undertaken.
April 14, 2011
A State DOT’s Unshakable Highway Fixation
The South Carolina Department of Transportation is sometimes still familiarly known as the "highway department." That was, in fact, the agency's proper title until 1977, when it was changed by order of the general assembly to the Department of Highways and Public Transportation.
February 10, 2011
In Charleston, an Affordable, Effective Alternative to Highway Expansion
Roads like Charleston's Savannah Highway are a common sight across America: a suburban arterial marked by high-speeds, dangerous pedestrian crossings and depressing aesthetics. A five-lane strip of asphalt surrounded by used car dealerships and motels, it's heavy on parking and curb cuts, light on crosswalks and trees. Like many streets of this type, Savannah Highway gets congested, particularly in a few key bottlenecks.
February 9, 2011
SGA: Transportation Funding Pays Big Dividends Only If Invested Wisely
In just the last month, several reports have quantified, in various ways, how investing in transportation infrastructure pays off in jobs and economic health. Now Smart Growth America is out with new research showing that it's not enough to plunk down a bunch of money and expect miracles. You've got to do it right.
February 7, 2011