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Articles by Matthew Casale
Highway Boondoggles, Part VII: Oregon’s Abernethy Insanity
I-205 widening, Oregon Cost: $900 million + Every day, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation, more than 100,000 vehicles travel the seven-mile stretch of Interstate 205 between Stafford Road and Oregon Route 213 in Oregon City — the often congested last remaining four-lane section of I-205.
Highway Boondoggles Part V: Duluth’s ‘Can of Worms’
I-35 Reconstruction, Duluth, Minn. Cost: $510 million+ It’s sometimes said that Minnesota has two seasons: winter and road construction. In Duluth, an ongoing, multiyear highway project has sucked up millions of taxpayer dollars on a road that many residents believe shouldn’t even be there in the first place. Duluth is the northern endpoint of the 1,569-mile-long Interstate 35. When I-35 was built, half a century ago, it was envisioned as a major route to the Canadian border.
Highway Boondoggles, Part IV: Erie’s ‘Mistake by the Lake’
Erie Bayfront Parkway Cost: $66-$100 million In the early 1990s, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation built the Bayfront Parkway, a two-lane road connecting Interstate 79 with the Lake Erie bayfront of Erie, Penn. The highway was pitched as needed to spark redevelopment of an area suffering from economic decline.
Highway Boondoggles, Part I: Maryland’s Misguided Highway Extension
Montgomery County M-83 highway, Maryland Cost: $1.3 billion M-83, otherwise known as the Midcounty Highway Extended, has been included in Montgomery County’s Master Plan of Highways since the 1960s. A limited access, four- to six-lane highway, the road would extend a little under nine miles from Ridge Road in Clarksburg to Redland Road in Derwood, running parallel to Route 355, as well as a northern extension planned in Clarksburg under the name Snowden Farm Parkway.
How the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Could Fast-Track Harmful Highway Boondoggles
The bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure deal signed into law in November 2021 has provided a previously near-unimaginable opportunity to invest in transportation in America. With more than half the funding made available under the new law going toward reauthorizing the surface transportation program, states now face a choice: spend this money to address dire needs with our transportation system, or squander it on wasteful boondoggle projects.
Fantasy Baseball Today
(3:38)- WBC final is set (4:50)- Updates on Jose Ramirez, Suzuki, Neto, Chase Burns (11:32)- News: Joe Musgrove will start the season on the IL (20:30)- Benge, Eldridge, Max Meyer, Mayo, Grant Holmes (25:34)- Kirby Yates, Jacob Lopez, Caissie, Ozuna, Kyle Harrison (31:07)- Cole Young, Abel, Cam Smith, Canzone, Mahle (37:00)- Luisangel Acuña, Ballesteros, Beeter (42:17)- Strahm, Erceg, Svanson, Liberatore, Nasim Nuñez, Rumfield (48:51)- Bader, Muncy (ATH), House, Josh Bell, Clarke (55:03)-...
We should close more streets to cars to keep people safe during COVID-19
Our car-centric streets weren’t built to give pedestrians enough space to make essential trips safely With so many fewer cars on the streets during the lockdown, now is the perfect time to open up that space to pedestrians and cyclists. Image Credit: Brian Henley (licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons License). I am quarantined with three roommates, two of them under the age of three. To be clear, they’re my wife and daughters.
Successful electric bus pioneers overcome challenges of early adoption |
Cities across the country are realizing the public health, environmental and monetary benefits of bus electrification Electric buses are a relatively new technological advance. And like every new mode of transportation, electric buses have faced bumps and hurdles, and a fair share of skeptics. Take the car, for example — the staple of modern American transportation. Today, around 88 percent of Americans own cars.
Highway Boondoggle: Virginia’s Unlovable I-81 Expansion
Virginia will expand Interstate 81, changes that will cost a whopping $2.2 billion and affect Civil War landscapes. In this year’s installment of its annual “Highway Boondoggles” report, Gideon Weissman of Frontier Group and Matthew Casale of U.S. PIRG Education Fund deliver a stark warning about the billions of dollars states spend on unnecessary highways that fracture our cities, deprive transit of scarce funds, and pollute our environment.
Boondoggle: Portland Takes a Step Backward
I-5 in Portland, as it goes through the downtown. Oregon's Department of Transportation wants to widen the road in the Rose Quarter. Photo: Sounder Bruce/Flickr In this year’s installment of its annual “Highway Boondoggles” report, Gideon Weissman of Frontier Group and Matthew Casale of U.S. PIRG Education Fund deliver a stark warning about the billions of dollars states spend on unnecessary highways that fracture our cities, deprive transit of scarce funds, and pollute our environment.
Highway Boondoggle: Keystone State’s 1-83 Expansion
Pennsylvania seeks to widen I-83 in York County, but funds for the costly project would be better spent on operational improvements such as crash prevention.
Highway Boondoggles: More Mistakes in Miami
Rendering of a proposed park under the expanded I-395 highway project, showing parkgoers strolling just feet from high-speed traffic.
Highway Boondoggles: Chicago’s Congestion Magnet
By Gideon Weissman and Matthew Casale Jun 25, 2019 0 No amount of pavement can alleviate the traffic in Chicago, because any amount of roadway just attracts more people in cars.
Highway Boondoggle: Golden State’s Desert Destruction
The High Desert Freeway could overburden desert ecosystems, altering the landscape and straining scarce water resources. Image: California Dept. of Transportation In this year’s installment of its annual “Highway Boondoggles” report, Gideon Weissman of Frontier Group and Matthew Casale of U.S. PIRG Education Fund deliver a stark warning about the billions of dollars states spend on unnecessary highways that fracture our cities, deprive transit of scarce funds, and pollute our environment.
Highway Boondoggles: Madness in Michigan
The Michigan Department of Transportation has pointed to population growth in Oakland County as the reason the area needs a larger Interstate 75 north of Detroit. But projected growth shows the county adding fewer than 100,000 people between 2015 and 2045, across an area nearly four times as large as Chicago.
Boondoggle: A Texas-Sized Mess of a Highway Plan
The North Houston Highway Improvement Project will expand already vast swaths of highway through the middle of Houston, displacing homes and businesses and dividing communities. Image: Texas Dept.
Highway Boondoggles 2019: Nine Projects That Should Never Happen
The North Houston Highway Improvement Project will expand already vast swaths of highway through the middle of Houston, displacing homes and businesses and dividing communities.
MA transportation system is falling behind - CommonWealth Magazine
Across the Commonwealth, our infrastructure is in desperate need of modernization and expansion, from our roads to bridges, to trains and buses, to subway and rail stations, to bike paths and more. Investments in transportation can connect us to jobs, education, and healthcare, reduce the time we spend stuck in traffic or waiting for a bus, grow our economy, and protect our environment.
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