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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tejek who wrote (452378)	1/30/2009 2:20:10 PM
From: TimF	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1575844

"The construction cost for a typical light rail project is about $25 million a mile, more than twice that for the typical freeway lane mile. Cost projections for Maricopa County vary between $30 million and $60 million per mile." goldwaterinstitute.org "It will add another $9 million to the $297 million project. But by acting quickly to make these changes, there aren't expected to be delays in rail construction. Work is scheduled to start in early 2009 and be completed by 2012. Opposition to the rail plan arose last fall in the last half mile of the 3.2-mile light rail line that extends from just south of Bethany Home Road to Dunlap Ave." azcentral.com $297mil + $9mil = $306mil $306mil for 3.2 miles = $95.625mil per mile or $1509.23 per inch --- "Another justification for expenditures on light-rail systems is that they provide transportation to thousands of low-income individuals who otherwise would find their mobility quite limited. While providing public transit to the poor does produce tangible economic benefits, the following example suggests that light rail is not an efficient means of providing transportation to the poor. Specifically, the example shown in the table demonstrates that the money spent on MetroLink in St. Louis can be used to much better effect. Based solely on dollar cost, the annual light-rail subsidies could instead be used to buy an environmentally friendly hybrid Toyota Prius every five years for each poor rider and even to pay annual maintenance costs of $6,000. Increases in pollution would be minimal with the hybrid vehicle, and 7,700 new vehicles on the roadway would result in only a 0.5 percent increase in traffic congestion.3 And there would still be funds left over—about $49 million per year. These funds could be given to all other MetroLink riders (amounting to roughly $1,045 per person per year) and be used for cab fare, bus fare, etc. " stlouisfed.org "Eventually, an automated train will take passengers around the airport. The project will cover 4.8 miles and will cost $1.1 billion." azcentral.com I beg your pardon? $1.1 Billion. With a B? For 4.8 miles? That is, as the title implies, $3,617 per inch. It is probably so expensive because they will be working at the blistering pace of 1/3 mile per year, or about 5 feet per day. coyoteblog.com Also see coyoteblog.com