Quote from: FirstAscent on September 22, 2011, 12:06:04 AM

Quote from: MoonShadow on September 21, 2011, 09:16:02 PM

Governments don't build roads in America. They never have. They fund roads and maintaince via taxation, but there are other ways to fund roads if need be. The roads are built and maintained by construction contractors, and governments (at most) function as management.

Wrong.

You contradict yourself immediately...

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1 ) The government decides to build roads (except in the case of a new tract under development by a developer).
2 ) The government sets up a planning commission which involves public and private planning firms.
3 ) The government decides on a plan, involving many government organizations, ranging from the ESA, the EPA, city councils, and so on.

Based upon the research, work and recommendations of private planning firms. Governments don't have planning firms, btw.

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4 ) The government contracts various firms to do the actual surveying, grading and paving.
5 ) Some government agency (state transportation agency, etc., depending on jurisdiction) oversees the project to completion.

Most people would consider that project management, would they not?

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6 ) Some government agency (state transportation agency, etc., depending on jurisdiction) maintains the completed road, installs signs, etc.

Some government agency finances and manages the maintaince contracts of completed roads. Only very large cities such as Chicago and NYC do this kind of skilled labor without contracting out the work to private contractors, and even they do it sometimes. It's literally impossible for smaller cities and independent towns to do it without contracting, because they can't maintain the expertise. And states don't do it because of the distances involved and political issues with county governments that make such a thing a logistical nightmare.

EDIT: A single paving machine can cost over $100K, and unlike a fire truck which sits still most of it's service life, a paving machine needs to be in nearly constant use in order for the costs of road maintaince to remain low. This also means that the machine itself needs constant professional maintaince as well. And this is just one type of specialized equipment required in road maintaince. Can a city own one of these? Sure, but it's not cost effective for a city to do so, because a single city's public works department is unlikey to be able to keep the machine in service. At least not as well as a contracting company that owns twenty of them, employs 15 operators full time, and two mechanics. The kinds of specialized equipment that cities tend to own fall into the catagory of 'physical insurance', such as salt trucks in cities that freeze and fire pumper boats in cities near trade waterways. Many cities have enough trouble just keeping their police helicopters in flight ready condition.

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7 ) Sometimes, that government agency hires outside contractors to engage in significant repairs or improvements.

That sometimes is the vast majority of the time. I would say almost all of the time, but I have no doubt that there are a few exceptions.

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8 ) Utility companies are allowed, as per agreements with the government, to do installation and maintenance on their utilities which lie underneath the road or alongside it.

And utility companies are private corporations, not mere extensions of government. And like all companies, they have the right to sub-contract those maintaince duties to other, more specialized, contractors. And they do, everywhere in America.

This is a field that I have worked within in the past, from several different perspectives. I know how things actually get done. You should try to consider your practical understanding of a topic before posting about issues for which you know not.