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I don't know about that. The United States has an excellent highway system that pretty much negates the need for high speed rail (or sabotages it, which is also
by frosted-flakes 8y ago
I don't know about that. The United States has an excellent highway system that pretty much negates the need for high speed rail (or sabotages it, which is also a valid viewpoint).
- fma 8y agoI doubt we'd be able to reproduce that feat. My state took 5 years to widen 8 miles of state road in a loosely populated area near me. They didn't need to bulldoze any houses or anything...it was literally add another road in parallel so it converts from 2 lane to 4 lane, and put a new bridge for the new direction. I bought my house when it looked almost done, but there was another year to go for final touchup, certification or some junk. On the flip side, when the I-85 bridge collapses in Atlanta (I live in Atlanta..in the burbs) that was redone ASAP. If the government wants it done, it can be done. I just feel the appetite for infrastructure isn't really there like the past.
- frosted-flakes 8y agoTrue. There's a great story about the I-580 ramp collapse in San Francisco that was rebuilt in just a few weeks in 2007 that also demonstrates that it can be done if there's the will. I posted it to HN a few weeks ago, but it didn't get any votes. I've reposted it here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19887849 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19887849
- HillaryBriss 8y agoBut the big build out of the highway system occurred in a different era: 1950s - 1970s. I can't think of a single new public infrastructure project that was built so quickly in the US. Projects almost always become bogged down with environmental impact studies, NIMBYism, and bloated costs caused by politically-connected contracting firms and unions.