Quote:
Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
There are differences, but they relate more to the conditions in which they are used and their respective costs. Cement lasts longer, but is more expensive. Pavement/asphalt don't work as well in hot climates (cement is worse in cold climates), but is cheaper, and also more easily patched. Anyway, there are a host of variables. States have an incentive to get the most bang for their buck, since they money is fixed. Arkansas for years had the shittiest roads--they got fixed because Clinton was president, not because they got more money for shitty roads.
|
Decisions made by state governments about which road contractor to use are often -- surprisingly -- made on the basis of who knows whom, rather than who will make the bestest, cheapest roads.
Relatedly, the low-income housing that became the Robert Taylor Homes in Chicago was built as high-rises at least in part because more of the program costs would be construction costs which could be slated to the right companies. And yet pointy-headed landscape architects get the blame.
(eta: My source for this, btw, is Nicholas Lemann's
The Promised Land.)
