Charles Marohn believes that the way the US manages its infrastructure spending is problematic He finds that the lack of federal support for maintenance leads states to irrationally prioritize new projects over repairing old.
Put simply, maintenance is a local issue. Marohn cites the example of his home state of Minnesota, which has more than 1000 deficient bridges in need of significant rehabilitation or replacement. Federal infrastructure money only comes in large quantities for new construction. If Minnesota passes up on the chance to build a new bridge for $670 (while maintaining all 1,149 deficient bridges would cost $500) that money would simply go to another state.
Therefore, politicians, for whom new construction projects aid re-election campaigns, are incentivized to seek new projects at the expense of future generations who will have to foot the repair bills.
FULL STORY: Dig, Baby, Dig
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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
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Economic & Planning Systems, Inc.
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research