I'm no expert, but I would wager that costs are so high due to a mix of: state capture, a complex regulatory scheme, and relatively minor process inefficiency t

I'm no expert, but I would wager that costs are so high due to a mix of: state capture, a complex regulatory scheme, and relatively minor process inefficiency throughout the value chain that when taken as a whole slow down large projects. The Congressional Act cited in the article explicitly states a timeline of 9 months for the GAO report to be delivered and yet it was 7 months late. Many state budgets have not reached pre-2008 levels and regulatory agencies are ripe to be exploited by labor groups, lobbying, private property owners, etc.