Environmental reviews, citizen concerns have driven up highway construction costs | Dump Trucks Charlotte NC
Columbus Ohio Dump Truck Company Brief:
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In a paper prepared for this week's 2019 Municipal Finance Conference at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.
Dump Trucks Columbus OH Insight:
In the draft of Brooks' and Liscow's study, the two also point to higher-income communities or coalitions that demand more expensive highways as a reason for rising costs. This is because, according to the researchers, demand for many goods increases with income or wealth. Also, individuals or groups with more money are likely to have more of a voice in the process that decides the kind of highway systems that get built.
Other potential reasons cited in the study for the rising cost of highways are:
- Increased market concentration
- Required coordination between many levels of government
- Ability of state governments to effectively contract for construction services
- Economies of scale
- Soft budget limitations
- Procurement practices
The study found that environmental reviews can take years, leaving estimates made at the beginning of what is often an already lengthy planning process out of date by the time it's ready to break ground. Sometimes, in an effort to lock in the lowest contractor price possible, however, agencies will award contracts too early and wind up incurring extra costs when the contractor cannot begin columbus oh dump truck company as scheduled.
But this practice is not limited to highways.
Late last year, California State Auditor Elaine M. Howle reported that the California High-Speed Rail Authority entered into construction contracts for the mostly shelved $79 billion bullet train between Northern and Southern California before it had secured rights of way, delaying construction and raising costs when columbus oh dump truck company back-charged the authority for demobilization- and remobilization-related expenses.