What Does $106 Million Get You in Maine? A Redundant Highway Expansion That Nobody Wants.

Maine residents want road maintenance. MaineDOT is giving them more roads.

Our On Again, Off Again, Infrastructure Future

Frequent power outages in California give pause to reflect on the overall fragility of our built environment.

#InfrastructureCrisis, Infrastructure, Sanphillippo, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoAugust 26, 2022California, wildfires, climate, Climate Change, infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, maintenance, Maintenance, Granola Shotgun

Don’t Pause the Gas Tax, Redirect It

Congressman Jake Auchincloss: "We don't need a gas tax holiday. We need a gas tax reset: an overhaul of how we approach transportation funding.”

Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (Transit Edition)

Don’t be fooled: Winnipeg’s newly proposed “rapid transit” project is actually a road-widening project in disguise. And it aims to borrow money so the City can destroy millions of dollars of its own tax base.

Flying Blind: Why Public Leaders Need an Investment Grade Analysis

Portland and Oregon leaders shouldn’t commit to a $5-billion project without an investment grade analysis (IGA) of toll revenues.

#DotheMath, #InfrastructureCrisis, Infrastructure, City Observatory, Top StoryJoe CortrightJune 17, 2022Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure cost, infrastructure spending, Oregon, Washington, DOT, #DoTheMath, City Observatory

Yet Another Exploding Whale: ODOT’s Freeway-Widening Cost Doubles

The Oregon DOT has experienced massive cost overruns on all of its largest construction projects…and has systematically concealed and understated the frequency and scale of those cost overruns.

#InfrastructureCrisis, Infrastructure, City Observatory, Transportation, Top StoryJoe CortrightJune 3, 2022Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure cult, infrastructure cost, infrastructure spending, Oregon, DOT, City Observatory, Joe Cortright, transportation

Fixing the Potholes Requires Digging Deeper

When it comes to our places’ roads, we need to start asking: “How much is this gonna cost us?”

#DotheMath, #InfrastructureCrisis, Infrastructure, Member Post, Top StoryMichel Durand-WoodJune 2, 2022Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, infrastructure cost, infrastructure spending, #DoTheMath, Winnipeg, canada, Canada, member story

The Grim Reaper of Small Towns

Our excessive expansion of the interstate highway system has destroyed urban downtowns—and it’s wiped out many small towns altogether.

#InfrastructureCrisis, Infrastructure, Sheppard, Transportation, Top StorySeairra SheppardApril 5, 2022highways, freeway widening, freeways, urban freeways, history, History, Small Towns, small towns, Infrastructure, infrastructure, transportation

TxDOT Ignores El Paso’s Needs To Make a Grab at Infrastructure Dollars

TxDOT’s latest boondoggle: a highway expansion that threatens to cut right at the heart of downtown El Paso.

#InfrastructureCrisis, Infrastructure, Transportation, Top StoryRobert StorchMarch 31, 2022highways, freeway widening, freeways, urban freeways, El Paso, Texas, transportation, Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure spending

The Road That Killed a City

From its one-time status as one of America’s most prosperous cities, Hartford, CT, is now one of the poorest—no thanks to its mid-twentieth-century urban renewal projects.

Sowing Our Roads with Salt Is No Way to Grow Stronger Towns

Because we depend so heavily on cars, what happens when roads become too icy to drive on? The answer: road salt. But there are serious consequences to relying on salt for road-clearing.

The Galesburg Papers, Part 2: The Cure

In this follow-up to last week’s piece about Galesburg, IL, we’ll look at what the town needs in order to recover and thrive.

#DotheMath, #InfrastructureCrisis, Infrastructure, Member Post, Top StoryJoe HicksJanuary 28, 2022#DoTheMath, Small Towns, small towns, Illinois, property tax, tax revenue, infrastructure cost, municipal finance, Municipal Debt

The Galesburg Papers, Part 1: The Diagnosis

Citizens of Galesburg, IL, are trying to save their public indoor pool and create a new activity complex. City council is sympathetic, but there's just one problem: money.

#DotheMath, #InfrastructureCrisis, Infrastructure, Member Post, Top StoryJoe HicksJanuary 21, 2022#DoTheMath, Small Towns, small towns, Illinois, property tax, tax revenue, infrastructure cost, municipal finance, Municipal Debt

The Bell Tolls for Thee, Maine...

Many local jurisdictions put off paying the bills for big capital projects. But this month, the bell tolls for Maine.

#DotheMath, #InfrastructureCrisis, Infrastructure, Stange, Transportation, Top StoryJay StangeJanuary 11, 2022highways, highway spending, toll roads, Infrastructure, infrastructure, transportation spending, transportation, #DoTheMath

The Infrastructure Bill Has Passed. What Now?

We’re skeptical that the bill will address the real and current infrastructure needs in our cities today—but the good news is, you can. And you can get started right now.

#InfrastructureCrisis, Federal Government, Infrastructure, Taking Action, Top StoryStrong TownsNovember 10, 2021Infrastructure, infrastructure bill, infrastructure maintenance, federal government, federal funding, maintenance, Maintenance, how to, taking action

Holy Leaping Dollars, Batman!

Unless we start making better accounting choices today, we’ll be facing service cuts and tax increases every year going forward. …That is, until the day we can’t anymore.

Sorry, but a $10 Million Sewer System Won't Fix Your Economy

This small town in Maine is hoping to breathe life back into its Main Street…but is looking for solutions in all the wrong places.

#InfrastructureCrisis, Infrastructure, Local Government, Quednau, Top StoryRachel QuednauOctober 26, 2021sewers, public investment, Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure spending, Small Towns, small towns, local government

My Journey from Free Market Ideologue to Strong Towns Advocate, Revisited

I’ve had to reconcile my foundational belief in markets with my experiences working with cities. This has been a painful process.

Marohn, #InfrastructureCrisis, Engineering Profession, Infrastructure, Local Government, Top StoryCharles MarohnOctober 25, 2021Market Urbanism, Local Government Aid, infrastructure cost, Minnesota, small towns, Infrastructure, infrastructure, engineers, engineering profession, local gov

Will We Have an Infrastructure Bill? Who Cares?

We get a lot of questions about a federal infrastructure bill, but at the end of the day…does it really matter?

#InfrastructureCrisis, Federal Government, Marohn, Infrastructure, Top StoryCharles MarohnOctober 4, 2021infrastructure bill, Infrastructure, infrastructure cult, federal government, American Jobs Plan

All Traffic Models Are Wrong

Traffic engineers use projections of future traffic to make recommendations and decisions on transportation investments… The problem is, those projections are all wrong.