>There are literally only a handful of companies in the country who can do things like construct a light rail line, something that used to be routine a century

>There are literally only a handful of companies in the country who can do things like construct a light rail line, something that used to be routine a century ago. I'm guessing there are vested corporate interests and lobbying in keeping things like this (basically, the status quo), as it means those few companies get to charge the state however much they want, while paying their workers peanuts as there's nearly no competition for the workers to jump ship to. Ah, the "benefits" of consolidation. The funny thing is, in Europe we have bridges built by the Romans that still stand, and 30 year old bridges that need to be rebuilt because the contractor cut way too many corners to squeeze a buck here and there.