Stim Cash Gone Bad: Feds Fund Houston’s Highway to Nowhere

Under the current system that U.S. President Barack Obamahas maintained, at least for now, the U.S. government will pay as muchas 80 percent of the multibillion dollar cost of a proposed 180-milering road around Houston -- its fourth such loop -- even though itserves a thinly populated rural area.

In contrast, an expansion of the city's light-rail system is onlyeligible for getting 50 percent of the cost paid by the federalgovernment, she said.

Yet more than 147,000 people live within a half-mile of the ten stations on the light rail system, Holzer said.

To demonstrate the low demand for the new ring road, Holzerdisplayed a picture of its empty lanes that she said she took at 5 p.m.one weekday -- a typical rush hour in urban areas.

"It's a boondoggle highway in the middle of nowhere," she said. "We need to invest our money where the people are."