| One of the problems indeed. Though IMHO it's just lack of political will. Highways are built at (relative) ease, no matter the cost. Data centers are infamously now being built at society expense (electricity and water capacity), sometimes literally in peoples backyards. At the moment I don't have the receipts, but from anecdotes - it's all just political will. There's a highway extension? Some properties are taken by eminent domain, some other NIMBYs are told to just suck it up. Data center? Forget about it - foundations are being laid this moment (sometimes no matter the law)! High speed rail? We must listen to every NIMBY on the proposed path, hence it will take 200 years to listen to all complaints and align opinions of the people impacted. Millions speant on "research, enviornmental impact and public opinion" - project stalls and is closed after 5 years. NB: I am not from USA, I think this pattern fits many (especially western) countries. Successful projects (I repeat myself) are always based on political will, when rule/law framework is designed to make such projects easier and much cheaper. NB2: Also as with anything - when you start building you get experience and expertese - the more you build the cheaper it gets. A lot of places havent built new train/metro/tram line in decades - hence all expertese must be built from scratch (from policies, to government clerks knowing how to deal with such projects, to construction businesses who never built rail in 50 years, etc.). |
It's like that because it's a misconception that highways are built for passenger cars. They're built for freight and all kinds of business activities - regular people using them are just a bonus.
The majority of petroleum-based fuel, wear and tear on the highways and toll revenue comes from everything but passenger cars on highways.