Highway Expansion
Basics
Virginia’s Transpo Future: Charge Drivers Less to Build More Roads
Congratulations are owed to Bob McDonnell. He's scored a victory on his transportation funding plan, cementing his legacy (though infuriating conservatives, including his hand-picked successor). His achievement is being called the first bipartisan initiative to pass in Virginia in decades. And what does this great deed accomplish? Secure revenue to fuel a new era of wasteful road-building in the commonwealth of Virginia.
February 26, 2013
Meet the $4.7 Billion Birmingham Highway Only Cronyism Could Build
It is really a testament to how dominant the highway industrial complex has become that we even have to talk about Birmingham's Northern Beltline, a $4.7 billion outerbelt first proposed in the 1960s. But with backing from big companies that would reap windfall real estate profits from the highway -- and with a U.S. Senator working to secure federal funding -- this boondoggle might actually get built.
January 28, 2013
Wisconsin Over-Invests in New Roads Destined for Underuse
Scott Walker, maybe we would respect your decision to pull the plug on high-speed rail in your state a little more if you weren’t such a hypocrite about transportation spending.
January 28, 2013
Does Detroit Need Another $1.8 Billion of Freeway? MDOT Thinks So
If there's a city that could serve as a cautionary tale for overbuilding highways, that city is Detroit. So it's fascinating -- and encouraging -- to see this city going through an internal tussle over the wisdom of building a highway.
January 17, 2013
Will Transportation Investments Keep Up With the Way Americans Travel?
Phineas Baxandall is a senior analyst at the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.
October 22, 2012
The Coming Infrastructure Crisis in Texas
The way Texas throws around money for highways -- $5.2 billion for a third outer-belt for Houston, $2 billion for Dallas' eighth downtown highway -- you would think TxDOT was running over with cheddar. This is a state, need we remind you, that "found" $350 million for a stalled highway project local leaders freely admit was designed to encourage sprawl, not solve any pressing mobility problems.
October 4, 2012
Scandalous Video: Obama Talks Sense About Road Building
You all excited to watch the presidential debate tonight? Here's a glimpse back to 2007, when the old Barack Obama was getting us all hyped up on a sugar rush of hope and change. Check out this video, care of the conservative Daily Caller, which is making a lot of hay about some racially-charged remarks Obama made on the campaign trail back then.
October 3, 2012
Louisville Doubles Down on Disruptive Downtown Highway
Louisville, Kentucky, is, by all accounts, a city with a lot of potential. An old river city, it has a wealth of beautiful, historic architecture. It's mid-sized, but large enough to have some good urban amenities. It's affordable, with a downtown waterfront and some unique cultural charms. As the New York Times said in its article about the city earlier this week, "Louisville has good bones."
September 27, 2012
NRDC Poll: Americans Support New Transit Twice as Much as New Roads
When asked what would solve traffic problems in their community, 42 percent of Americans say more transit. Only 20 percent say more roads. And 21 percent would like to see communities developed that don’t require so much driving. Two-thirds support local planning that guides new development into existing cities and near public transportation.
September 12, 2012