02-01-2018, 06:53 AM
HOTPE said: Does the state discourage us or facilitate our actions? Roads have been widened, a roundabout built, and a new stoplight installed. What does that look like to you?
The work for that new stoplight was held up for a couple of months because the state's own permit for the work was allowed to expire and they couldn't seem to find a way to expedite its renewal or replacement. That's just one relatively small example of local and state government incompetence when it comes to contracting public works.
All the projects mentioned by HOTPE cost more and took longer than they would have had they been Federally controlled projects instead of just partially funded by the Feds. (The roundabout was done in an exceptionally timely manner for locally controlled projects, but that was a rare case, and it could have been done for less money.) When we look at the Saddle Road improvements of the past eight years or so, we see a totally different picture. Thanks to no-nonsense Federal control, there were none of the expensive delays, "change orders," or cost overruns we have come to expect from state and local projects.
The work for that new stoplight was held up for a couple of months because the state's own permit for the work was allowed to expire and they couldn't seem to find a way to expedite its renewal or replacement. That's just one relatively small example of local and state government incompetence when it comes to contracting public works.
All the projects mentioned by HOTPE cost more and took longer than they would have had they been Federally controlled projects instead of just partially funded by the Feds. (The roundabout was done in an exceptionally timely manner for locally controlled projects, but that was a rare case, and it could have been done for less money.) When we look at the Saddle Road improvements of the past eight years or so, we see a totally different picture. Thanks to no-nonsense Federal control, there were none of the expensive delays, "change orders," or cost overruns we have come to expect from state and local projects.