Quote:
Originally Posted by deanstirrat
The numbers you are throwing out can't really be compared. Rail is an upfront cost. Its staggering and certainly should cost less to build but thats a nationwide issue. Even so, the cost of rail will be less that highways and car commuting. There is the price to upkeep roads. But there is also the price to pay highway patrol. The cost or drunk drivers and careless accidents. The price of each car on the road and their individual maintenance. The price of gas and the price of all that co2. The price of rail is much much less long term. The project will have a transformative effect when fully built out. Hopefully we can fix transit cost overages while were at it.
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All well and good but the upkeep and maintenance costs are not insignificant and will not take away from what is already spent on roads. There's also the labor cost, and in a state beholden to public sector unions that's another major factor to consider. This boondoggle also doesn't serve UH Manoa or Waikiki, which are the two biggest drivers of traffic on the entire island.
I know this forum is full of starry-eyed urbanists who are happy to overlook and dismiss these borderline criminal cost overruns, delays, and downright lies to get taxpayers on the hook in order to enrich a few politically-connected contractors, consultants, and unions, but this stuff matters to voters and taxpayers. You can't keep lying to people and shaking them down when it comes to infrastructure.