re: Can high speed rail work in the United States?

quote:

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aking a train ride is fine and good, but not if you have potholes large enough to lose a Volkswagen in, traffic getting worse by the day, and fifty thousand bridges across the country that have been deemed structurally deficient. The untold billions of dollars a commuter rail system will undoubtedly cost can be put to much better use elsewhere.

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I agree with you somewhat. But the traffic issue in the US is more about land use and sprawl than not having enough roads. We know this because in many places congestion is higher in the suburbs than in city centers.

I agree 100% on maintenance and repair....look up how much money we spend (local, state and federal) on new roads, as opposed to fixing broken roads and bridges.

If 90% of places in the US stopped all road expansion/new road construction projects (and stopped permitting new development in areas with subpar infrastructure) for 3 years and spent all of that money fixing existing roads and bridges we would all be better off, and safer.