Highway Construction

Ca73

Urban Road-Building Linked to Poor Statewide Economic Performance

Besides wasting billions of taxpayer dollars, road-building may actually be holding back economic growth overall.

January 20, 2014 - Shane Phillips

In Indiana, Highway Building Is an End in Itself

As the first segment of the new $2-3 billion freeway called I-69 linking Evansville and Indianapolis nears completion, Southwest Indiana leaders are already agitating to build the state's next "massive boondoggle," writes Aaron Renn.

October 24, 2013 - Urbanophile

In Maryland, a Highway Built on Hype is "Stuck in Neutral"

Stretching through suburban Maryland, the Intercounty Connector was sold on promises of boosting development and relieving congestion. Two years after it opened, users are few, while its drain on state transportation finances continues to grow.

October 21, 2013 - Bethesda Magazine

Stop the Madness: New Thinking Needed for Prioritizing Transportation Projects

For architecture critic Inga Saffron, a $900 million project to improve a South Jersey interchange illustrates the madness of transportation funding priorities.

April 3, 2013 - philly.com

Freeway Construction Was the Real Carmageddon for L.A.'s Communities

After a weekend in which Los Angeles successfully navigated the closure of one of its most clogged freeways once again, we look back at the disastrous effect that freeway construction had on L.A.'s communities during the middle of the last century.

October 1, 2012 - KCET Departures

The Economics of China's Mega Traffic Jam

The recent 11-day traffic jam in China was no fluke. As The Economist explains, the crushing congestion is little more than a real-world example of imbalances in supply and demand.

August 30, 2010 - The Economist

Roadblocks A'Plenty in Nebraska

Bureaucratic snafus between the Nebraska Department of Roads and the Federal Highway Administration have caused numerous highway, bridge and road projects to be delayed. FHA head Victor Mendez met with local officials to sort out the mess.

April 12, 2010 - The Omaha World-Herald

How the Road Construction Industry is Destroying Japan

How the "road tribes" — the impenetrable scrum of bureaucrats, politicians and industry that benefit from an ever-expanding program of road construction — are literally paving the road to national ruin in Japan.

April 25, 2009 - Japan Times

Road Funding: Doing More With Less

Roads and bridges are crumbling in America. The Highway Trust Fund is broke and new revenue other than stimulus funds are unlikely, so some state transportation officials are applying innovative methods to spread the road funding they have secured.

March 10, 2009 - Parade

The Perils of 'Shovel-Ready' Projects

As the Federal government prepares to pour massive amounts of funding into road infrastructure, James Russell sends up a warning that the 'shovel-ready' projects may just be more bridges to nowhere.

January 23, 2009 - Bloomberg.com

'Green' Governor Fast-Tracks Highway Construction

Environmentalists reject CA Gov. Schwarzenegger's attempt to waive new highway construction projects from environmental review to qualify for Obama's stimulus package, offering 'fix-it-first' construction and public transit projects as alternatives.

January 13, 2009 - Los Angeles Times

An Argument for Congestion Pricing

In the first of two guest posts, UCLA researcher Eric A. Morris blogs on the logic behind congestion pricing.

January 8, 2009 - The New York Times

Obama Plan: Stimulating The Economy Or Sprawl?

Obama has compared the size of the stimulus package he wants to the 1956 National Highway Act. If the states have their way, it may be just that -- a new highway bill with little left for transit.

December 31, 2008 - Bloomberg

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.

Professor of Urban Planning

Harvard University Graduate School of Design

Transportation Planner I

KFH Group Inc.

Director, Strategy and Research

Greater Baltimore Committee

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