5 ms·

Do infrastructure projects in the US cost more, or am I imagining it? Is it proportional to what the local population can pay or something? Anyone have an idea

Do infrastructure projects in the US cost more, or am I imagining it? Is it proportional to what the local population can pay or something? Anyone have an idea why or how it coild be fixed?

ubernostrum 10y ago
It depends. When you hear about massive projects being done cheaper (especially in per-mile costs), often it's because the project isn't running through an established, densely-populated area. So what you end up getting is "cost of building in a wilderness" versus "cost of building in a dense established city". The latter is going to be more expensive.
- magila 10y ago
  The BART extension is being built along an existing rail right-of-way for most of its distance so I'm not sure how much existing development can be blamed for the high cost.
- kalleboo 10y ago
  You're right, Tokyo, Singapore, Seoul, they're not densely populated at all! Not to say there aren't valid reasons for some projects to be more expensive (especially when you're tunneling), but by all accounts the US manages to have outsized costs for pretty much any infrastructure project.
  - mateo411 10y ago
    Are infrastructure projects a lot cheaper in Japan, South Korea and Singapore? I honestly don't know. I know they have better rail infrastructure, but those societies also pay higher taxes and make rail infrastructure a higher priority.
narrator 10y ago
They have some pretty neat tech for building railroads fast in China: https://youtu.be/T7hdo9tL6u0?t=14 https://youtu.be/T7hdo9tL6u0?t=14
pchristensen 10y ago
Yes, almost always, for a variety of reasons. See Pedestrian Observations by Alon Levy for the details. Here's a link to the "Construction Costs" category: https://pedestrianobservations.wordpress.com/category/transportation/construction-costs/ https://pedestrianobservations.wordpress.com/category/transp...
anewhnaccount2 10y ago
Corruption.

Do infrastructure projects in the US cost more, or am I imagining it? Is it proportional to what the local population can pay or something? Anyone have an idea why or how it coild be fixed?

ubernostrum 10y ago

It depends. When you hear about massive projects being done cheaper (especially in per-mile costs), often it's because the project isn't running through an established, densely-populated area. So what you end up getting is "cost of building in a wilderness" versus "cost of building in a dense established city". The latter is going to be more expensive.

magila 10y ago
The BART extension is being built along an existing rail right-of-way for most of its distance so I'm not sure how much existing development can be blamed for the high cost.
kalleboo 10y ago
You're right, Tokyo, Singapore, Seoul, they're not densely populated at all! Not to say there aren't valid reasons for some projects to be more expensive (especially when you're tunneling), but by all accounts the US manages to have outsized costs for pretty much any infrastructure project.
- mateo411 10y ago
  Are infrastructure projects a lot cheaper in Japan, South Korea and Singapore? I honestly don't know. I know they have better rail infrastructure, but those societies also pay higher taxes and make rail infrastructure a higher priority.

narrator 10y ago

They have some pretty neat tech for building railroads fast in China: https://youtu.be/T7hdo9tL6u0?t=14 https://youtu.be/T7hdo9tL6u0?t=14

pchristensen 10y ago

Yes, almost always, for a variety of reasons. See Pedestrian Observations by Alon Levy for the details. Here's a link to the "Construction Costs" category: https://pedestrianobservations.wordpress.com/category/transportation/construction-costs/ https://pedestrianobservations.wordpress.com/category/transp...

anewhnaccount2 10y ago

Corruption.