As anyone who has spent any time with me in the last few months will tell you, don't get me started on the big dig. If you haven't already listened, there's a great podcast on the project that WGBH put out last year (https://www.wgbh.org/podcasts/the-big-dig).
I am one of those white [collar] workers that has been involved in various construction projects. Though not on the scale of those you mentioned, even small projects have all sorts of regulatory, political, and coordination obstacles that were not present a century ago. It's difficult to compare a dam project in the middle of the desert (with minimal environmental studies) to a water works project under one of the largest cities in the world (with very powerful politicians and vocal residents).
Gone are the days of razing low income neighborhoods to build the interstate highway system or underpaying manual laborers to build railroads. I think it's good to compare to other developed countries for ways to optimize, but it is dangerous to look at our past as a benchmark. #infrastructureweek
I think there's a healthy middle ground. I'm not saying we should go back to the rules of the 1920s, but that we should copy other wealthy nations that build at under half (!) the cost as we do.
I also think the razing of neighborhoods to build highways, while a bad thing, is also used a bogeyman to explain all that ails American cities.
I absolutely agree, the rational fear of razing neighborhoods has evolved into often irrational NIMBYism. The resulting political pressures have probably stopped as many projects as unreasonable costs. There's undoubtibly room for efficiencies on many levels.
As anyone who has spent any time with me in the last few months will tell you, don't get me started on the big dig. If you haven't already listened, there's a great podcast on the project that WGBH put out last year (https://www.wgbh.org/podcasts/the-big-dig).
I am one of those white [collar] workers that has been involved in various construction projects. Though not on the scale of those you mentioned, even small projects have all sorts of regulatory, political, and coordination obstacles that were not present a century ago. It's difficult to compare a dam project in the middle of the desert (with minimal environmental studies) to a water works project under one of the largest cities in the world (with very powerful politicians and vocal residents).
Gone are the days of razing low income neighborhoods to build the interstate highway system or underpaying manual laborers to build railroads. I think it's good to compare to other developed countries for ways to optimize, but it is dangerous to look at our past as a benchmark. #infrastructureweek
I think there's a healthy middle ground. I'm not saying we should go back to the rules of the 1920s, but that we should copy other wealthy nations that build at under half (!) the cost as we do.
I also think the razing of neighborhoods to build highways, while a bad thing, is also used a bogeyman to explain all that ails American cities.
I absolutely agree, the rational fear of razing neighborhoods has evolved into often irrational NIMBYism. The resulting political pressures have probably stopped as many projects as unreasonable costs. There's undoubtibly room for efficiencies on many levels.