![]() That said, the circumstances here stick out. So maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise that Illinois is proposing to widen another Chicago area highway. The appearance of value is a powerful thing. A boondoggle is something that is wasteful or pointless but gives the appearance of having value. PIRG, we’ve called highway expansions “ boondoggles” for a reason. Cutting the ribbon on a new highway project is a favorite event for most politicians. Yet, policy makers consistently prioritize spending on new highway projects. Highway construction is also expensive, and the precious dollars spent laying new pavement could be spent better elsewhere - such as maintaining and repairing the roads we already have, expanding transit systems or building safer streets to walk and bike on. More cars take to the road to fill up the new capacity, meaning traffic gets more backed up, global warming emissions increase and air quality gets worse. Misguided road building sets off a chain of bad reactions. Expanding a highway with a destination that doesn’t exist is absurd. Sure, it’s not a bridge to nowhere, but what we’ve got on our hands is definitely a road to nowhere.Įxpanding a highway in general is problematic. ![]() The problem? The Peotone Airport doesn’t exist. ![]() Pritzker’s recent transportation bill includes a baffling $205 million highway expansion to the Peotone Airport. You might think that after it became such a high profile issue, we’d have moved on from that sort of thing. That bridge in Alaska isn’t the only example of poorly conceived and wasteful pet infrastructure projects from American history, but it’s probably become the most infamous. Obviously, it didn’t win John McCain the election, but whenever she brought it up, the applause would get a little louder. Say what you will about Sarah Palin ( and whether she actually turned down that money or not), but the idea that we shouldn’t be spending hundreds of millions of dollars on infrastructure projects that deliver little benefit resonates. During the 2008 presidential election, Sarah Palin introduced the country to the phrase “bridge to nowhere.” She claimed that she told Congress “ thanks, but no thanks” to $223 million earmarked for a bridge that many claimed was an example of wasteful government spending on politicians’ pet projects. ![]()
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