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How Much Does a Mile of Road Cost?

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Re: How Much Does a Mile of Road Cost?

#61

Post by nightski »

glangdale wrote: post #22

This is interesting information, but from the perspective of a high-value urban area, even these fairly eye-watering numbers are a understatement. The capital represented both as infrastructure and forgone real estate usage (i.e. yes, we need roads, but building more roads than we need diverts incredibly valuable real estate from other purposes) is huge. I'm always amused here in Australia when governments like to ma…

Sure it's breaking even if you consider the utility of the roads to be equal to the taxed value of petrol. But it's likely far greater than that.

Re: How Much Does a Mile of Road Cost?

#62

Post by njarboe »

rayiner wrote: post #27
ryanar wrote: post #2

I feel like I am missing something here, a mile of road in a rural area costs $1,500,000 to reconstruct? How do small towns afford to maintain their roads?? Perhaps there are many costs that don't inflate as the number of miles increases, like the equipment needed to break down and repave the roads?

The relevant number here is the cost to repave, not reconstruct, which is about $330,000-$350,000 per mile for a minor arterial road in a rural or urban area. As to how small towns afford it--you don't repave that often, and you focus efforts on what to repave. For example, Cedar Rapids, Iowa calculated it would cost $500 million over 10 years to repave everything that needs to be repaved: https://www.kcrg.com/conten…

I know of a 4.5 mile stretch of small rural road in the California foothills was recently repaved for about $400k. It would be great if the variance on these numbers were also given.

Re: How Much Does a Mile of Road Cost?

#63

Post by athenot »

dougweltman wrote: post #7

This does not address a larger question: how much does a mile of road cost to keep ? This is the installed base question. Consider the amount of road that has been built out in the US relative to the populations that road is serving. Maintenance and expansion is paid out mainly from state and local taxes. That's an enormous civilizational overhead the US contends with, not to mention the economic cost of a large port…

Isn't that under "Resurface existing lane" and "Improve shoulder"? Yes there are other costs associated with road upkeep, from vegetation trimming to pothole repairs. But I would think the first two are rather major parts of upkeep. To make things easy, assume a 10 year interval between these maintenance items so divide those line items by 10 for the annual cost.

Definitely not a small number considering the installed road base…

Re: How Much Does a Mile of Road Cost?

#64

Post by Polylactic_acid »

stevenwoo wrote: post #59
Polylactic_acid wrote: post #20

I'm planning to live a car free life soon. I'll be moving in to the city so almost everything is within walking distance and just about everything is accessable via public transport. The only thing I haven't been able work out is how I will continue to go mtn biking since bikes aren't allowed on the bus. But I just can't justify the massive expense of owning a car and a car park for one activity.

How did you pick the city, and if you do not mind revealing what city or general location?

Its just the one I currently work at in Australia. I have a semi plan to move to Melbourne for the higher availability of jobs but I think I want to test the waters somewhere more local first.

Re: How Much Does a Mile of Road Cost?

#65

Post by MiracleUser »

Polylactic_acid wrote: post #24
melling wrote: post #15

Major urbanized is incredibly expensive. Tens of millions... I read somewhere that China spends $30 million per mile of high-speed rail. 22,000 miles and counting. The US is going to bankrupt itself trying to modernize its aging infrastructure.

The price of rail is pretty good when you consider the capacity. That single rail line is replacing at least 6 lanes of highway and would get people to their destination safer and faster with less air pollution which is a major issue they are trying to tackle.

(ime) Trains only get you to your destination faster if your destination is a train station

Re: How Much Does a Mile of Road Cost?

#66

Post by davideous »

dillonmckay wrote: post #16
davideous wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My small town resurfaced (grinding and re-paving) 5/12ths of a mile for about $100,000. That's about $240,000 per mile. Or actually $120,000 per "lane-mile". However, we could only afford it because we got a grant from the state. Our annual town budget could not afford the road maintenance.

What is your town’s population size? Do you experience freezing temperatures?

Population was 277 at the last census. Yes, we experience freezing temperatures.

Re: How Much Does a Mile of Road Cost?

#67

Post by maxerickson »

dougweltman wrote: post #7

This does not address a larger question: how much does a mile of road cost to keep ? This is the installed base question. Consider the amount of road that has been built out in the US relative to the populations that road is serving. Maintenance and expansion is paid out mainly from state and local taxes. That's an enormous civilizational overhead the US contends with, not to mention the economic cost of a large port…

Yeah, my town resurfaces streets either when they qualify for federal funds or when it is an emergency.

Re: How Much Does a Mile of Road Cost?

#68

Post by davideous »

Retric wrote: post #35
davideous wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My small town resurfaced (grinding and re-paving) 5/12ths of a mile for about $100,000. That's about $240,000 per mile. Or actually $120,000 per "lane-mile". However, we could only afford it because we got a grant from the state. Our annual town budget could not afford the road maintenance.

That’s not that expensive, as long as it’s a planned expense. An acre of land which is large for a town is 43,560 square feet or 208’ x 208’ though you can get significantly narrower along a road. A mile is 5280’ so ballpark that’s 25 per side or 50 properties = 4,800$ per property every say 20 years or 240$ per year.

That stretch of road serves 40 houses. So paving every 20 years works out to $125/year/house. Median home value is $105,000 so that costs 0.12% of home value per year.

Not unreasonable if planned for and if other expenses are not chewing up all property tax revenue.

Re: How Much Does a Mile of Road Cost?

#69

Post by jankiehodgpodge »

ip26 wrote: post #60
lukasm wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Concrete is pretty much the only alternative that can handle 40+ tonnes trucks and be cost effective. It will last longer, but it's more expensive to build - could be cheaper on the long run. You get a bit more tire noise and less traction than on the asphalt.

Less repairable as well.

Terrible in the rain too.

Re: How Much Does a Mile of Road Cost?

#70

Post by zaroth »

Drunk_Engineer wrote: post #49
rayiner wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The relevant number here is the cost to repave, not reconstruct, which is about $330,000-$350,000 per mile for a minor arterial road in a rural or urban area. As to how small towns afford it--you don't repave that often, and you focus efforts on what to repave. For example, Cedar Rapids, Iowa calculated it would cost $500 million over 10 years to repave everything that needs to be repaved: https://www.kcrg.com/conten…

That's a very apples-oranges comparison. DC commuters benefit from Metrorail even if they don't use it. And the Metrorail capital budget is for much more than just trackway (i.e. railcars, buses, parking garages, etc).

Of course the metro riders also benefit greatly from roads. It’s almost like it shouldn’t be all one or the other.
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