[Tade0]

> Highways are built at (relative) ease, no matter the cost.

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.

[jcranmer]

Almost all of the new highway construction is for passenger cars. Yes, the interstate highways were built in part to facilitate intercity truck traffic, but the reason for building yet another beltway around, say, Houston isn't for trucks but for all of the passenger cars in the region that are congesting the roads.