Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Crumbling Infrastructure: It's Not a Lack of Funding

Today's Boston Metro has a frontpage story on the release of a new report by the DC-Based TRIP which found:
  • More than a third of major roads are rated in fair or poor condition.
  • Driving on roads in need of work in Massachusetts costs the average driver about $156 in added repairs and extra gas;
  • Traffic on major highways in Massachusetts is expected to jump 20 percent by the year 2025;
  • Car crashes cost the state $6.3 billion a year in medical bills, delays, lost productivity and insurance costs; and
  • 35 percent of interstate bridges in Massachusetts are one rating point away from being structurally deficient.
This is pretty scary stuff and the conditions of the Bay State's roads and bridges can no longer be ignored. I am a little bit skeptical of the authors' conclusion:
"The deficiencies cited in this report are not a reflection of the effectiveness of state and local transportation agencies, but a lack of adequate funding."
Oh right, our problem was that we just didn't throw enough money into that boondoggle we call the Big Dig.
But really, inadequate funding? You're telling me it has nothing to do with police details, project-labor agreements, or prevailing wage laws, all of which drive up the costs of public construction?
I doubt it.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Invest/Rebuild America
End dependence on foreign oil, mass transit national monorail system urban renewal terminal sites parks, museums, malls, assembly centers. Build self-contained communities to relocate persons and workers. Tap into existing interstate routes . Goal in 4 years to end war on terror by being free of foreign oil needs.
Engage the university thinktanks, Army, Disny, & existing mass transit technology. Tax the oil company excess profits to pay for the Oil Wars borrowed by Bush.
Fairtax, frees tremendous government resources to focus on revamping transportation needs. The Army bombs and rebuilds nations annually. We can rebuild America into an independent nation, implement urban renwal, and initiate self-contained model communities nationwide. Think about it. Also, why remit funds when all you need is data? Fairtax can be credits the government handles electronically. The glitch is Accountants and Tax Lawyers out of work due to change. Recruit them in Job Corps Civil Service at same pay rates to facilitate transit acquisition of inner city property at tax roll rates. The value of improving ghettos into park like terminals serves the common good. It provides opportunities for investment and income producing properties. If we are up to the task it is feasible in one term of office. The Army Corps of Engineers rebuilt the New Orleans Levee System in months. If we focus the space programs into transit we could achieve the future now.

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