Why It Takes So Long to Build a Bridge in America; There's plenty of money. The problem is interminable environmental review

The main reason crumbling roads, decrepit bridges, antiquated power lines, leaky water mains and muddy harbors don't get fixed is interminable regulatory review. Environmental review today is done by a "lead agency"--such as the Coast Guard in the case of the Bayonne Bridge--that is u...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Wall Street journal. Eastern edition 2013-11-23
Main Author: Howard, Philip K
Format: Newspaper Article
Language:English
Subjects:
American Recovery & Reinvestment Act 2009-US
Bridges
Decision making
Environmental protection
Infrastructure
Litigation
Modernization
Roads & highways
State budgets
Trust
Water mains
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The main reason crumbling roads, decrepit bridges, antiquated power lines, leaky water mains and muddy harbors don't get fixed is interminable regulatory review. Environmental review today is done by a "lead agency"--such as the Coast Guard in the case of the Bayonne Bridge--that is usually a proponent of a project, and therefore not to be trusted to draw the line. Because it is under legal scrutiny and pressure to prove it took a "hard look," the lead agency's approach has mutated into a process of no pebble left unturned, followed by lawsuits that flyspeck documents that are often thousands of pages long.
ISSN:2574-9579