I think the general trend of giving “highways” their own departments, agencies, and budgets is a big part of the issue. In many cases there’s no agency with th

I think the general trend of giving “highways” their own departments, agencies, and budgets is a big part of the issue. In many cases there’s no agency with the authority to say that spending $2b on transit infrastructure would have a better traffic outcome than spending $2b on a giant road widening project. The highways department has a budget and whaddaya know they spend it on expanding highways. This if often used as a positive and accountable outcome for tax payers, ie “my gas/road tax should only be used for roads not other projects!” And especially once that is tied into privately operated toll roads, you have entities which stand to lose out if that budget is redirected to things that aren’t highways.