Galvanized rebar is about 20% more expensive and is actually widely used in highway construction, particularly when salt is a major concern. Epoxy coated rebar

Galvanized rebar is about 20% more expensive and is actually widely used in highway construction, particularly when salt is a major concern. Epoxy coated rebar turned out to have much poorer efficacy than originally expected as you noted but the same is not true of galvanizing which is a much more durable coating.