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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 est
by 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 agoThe 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 agoYou'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 agoAre 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.