I-10 Calcasieu River Bridge....DEAD??

[MikieTimT]

I worry the entire country will face a reckoning in the not very distant future. Infrastructure isn't the only industry where cost inflation has been way out of hand with the "Core CPI" figure. Cost inflation in Health Care, Higher Education and (lately) Housing has been ridiculous. I worry the current housing bubble is getting a lot worse than the one in the mid 2000's. This shit is just not sustainable.

We're in the early stages of what could be a slow-rolling disaster in generation demographics. Simply put: America is well on its way to having too many elderly people and not enough working age taxpayers to both staff and sustain so many systems we take for granted. China is getting into deep shit over this very situation. America has various industries that have been price gouging the public for a long time. I think their gravy train will come to a screeching halt within the next 10-20 years. A shrinking work force won't be able to afford massive tax hikes and price hikes to cover those costs.

America's railroad industry has been "decommissioning" tens of thousands of miles worth of existing track for decades. They're still ripping out more old track than they are laying down new rail lines. We might start seeing that with our highways.

We have an ace up our sleeve on demographics in that, despite our problems, the US is still the most desirable country in the world to immigrate to.  My wife's family came to this country back in the 80's to escape Communism (re-education) in SE Asia, and have been without exception a net gain for the US with their work and educational ethic.  We can import workers at whatever rate we politically deem appropriate to fix that issue.  Trick is, to tailor the policy to increase immigration to the needed skillset to fill the gaps in what we can't domestically grow to fill.  Now, that's not to say that just because we can means we will.  Politics, of course, being what it is.

[bwana39]

I worry the entire country will face a reckoning in the not very distant future. Infrastructure isn't the only industry where cost inflation has been way out of hand with the "Core CPI" figure. Cost inflation in Health Care, Higher Education and (lately) Housing has been ridiculous. I worry the current housing bubble is getting a lot worse than the one in the mid 2000's. This shit is just not sustainable.

We're in the early stages of what could be a slow-rolling disaster in generation demographics. Simply put: America is well on its way to having too many elderly people and not enough working age taxpayers to both staff and sustain so many systems we take for granted. China is getting into deep shit over this very situation. America has various industries that have been price gouging the public for a long time. I think their gravy train will come to a screeching halt within the next 10-20 years. A shrinking work force won't be able to afford massive tax hikes and price hikes to cover those costs.

America's railroad industry has been "decommissioning" tens of thousands of miles worth of existing track for decades. They're still ripping out more old track than they are laying down new rail lines. We might start seeing that with our highways.

We have an ace up our sleeve on demographics in that, despite our problems, the US is still the most desirable country in the world to immigrate to.  My wife's family came to this country back in the 80's to escape Communism (re-education) in SE Asia, and have been without exception a net gain for the US with their work and educational ethic.  We can import workers at whatever rate we politically deem appropriate to fix that issue.  Trick is, to tailor the policy to increase immigration to the needed skillset to fill the gaps in what we can't domestically grow to fill.  Now, that's not to say that just because we can means we will.  Politics, of course, being what it is.

Our immigration policy favors highly educated and those with exceptional means.
The number of political refugees is lower and many of them fall into the well-educated group.  We have no real appetite to train US workers and allow in a group of new workers who will start from the bottom up. The primary basis of this is the way we pay for higher education and the regressive welfare system.

Anyone who suggests that inflation is low has not recently bought a car or light truck, paid rent or bought a house. or paid college tuition fees, room & board.)  BTW when we compare inflation of college from before 1965, we are comparing apples to oranges. The cost of college circa 1960 was tuition, fees, room & board. Today it is GENERALLY stated as the cost of tuition (and maybe fees) plus an underestimated amount for textbooks.

[Bobby5280]

We have an ace up our sleeve on demographics in that, despite our problems, the US is still the most desirable country in the world to immigrate to.

There is a chance that could change.

For the past 50 years nearly all the net population gains in the US have come via immigration. Since the early 1970's the birth rates of American-born women across all races hovered near replacement level (2.1 children per female). In the mid 2000's it dropped below 2.0 and has been slowly trending farther down since then. Some currently worsening conditions are increasing the chances for total fertility rates in American-born women to just utterly crash. We could be down there with China and South Korea.

Historically, the US has taken its status as the top destination for people to emigrate totally for granted. We imported big numbers of Chinese workers to help build up our railroads; then our government turned around and passed the Chinese Exclusion Act. That's how we roll. We have a bunch of industries and institutions that are very dependent on both illegal and legal immigration. If we deported every illegal immigrant in the US our agriculture industry and various others literally wouldn't be able to function. If we blocked every H1B Visa our top universities and technology companies would be hurting badly.

Many of our colleges, especially the most prestigious ones, have gotten fat and greedy off educating foreign-born students from families with money. One recent trend: a growing number of these students are getting their degrees and then taking their skills back home or to another country. China is going through a "brain drain" due the nation's increasingly authoritarian policies and worsening economic outlook. Those high skilled workers aren't automatically coming to the US. Many are going to Europe or staying closer to home in other Asian countries.

Young Americans are growing increasingly disillusioned about the value of a college degree. Many of them are not worth the parchment on which they're printed. Several skilled trades can offer better, more steady paychecks. It's possible to make decent money as a plumber, electrician or mechanic and not have any crushing student loan debt. Universities have enjoyed a bubble economy of sorts for far too long.

The "de-coupling" trend now affecting international trade has big companies moving production to more friendly and stable locations, preferably closer to home. Mexico is one such near-shoring site. If the trend takes off in a big way it's going to draw a lot of Mexican-born workers back home. With anti-immigrant sentiment growing ever more heated and angry in the US that will make it more likely for such workers to look for any opportunity to return home.

Anyone who suggests that inflation is low has not recently bought a car or light truck, paid rent or bought a house. or paid college tuition fees, room & board.)

Throw in the crushing prices of health care and day care. It's a perfect recipe to convince lots of adults in their 20's and 30's to avoid having children.

[bwana39]

Young Americans are growing increasingly disillusioned about the value of a college degree. Many of them are not worth the parchment on which they're printed. Several skilled trades can o's. ffer better, more steady paychecks. It's possible to make decent money as a plumber, electrician or mechanic and not have any crushing student loan debt. Universities have enjoyed a bubble economy of sorts for far too long.



Throw in the crushing prices of health care and day care. It's a perfect recipe to convince lots of adults in their 20's and 30's to avoid having children.

Day care costs have not changed relatively since the 1980's/ My wife could not afford to work when our kids were little. THis is is part of the problem we have with generational poverty. Single parents cannot afford to work or are limited in when (and how much) they can work because of the cost of paying for daycare.

Much of the problem with the value of degrees is that the workplace is looking for specific vocational skills. (Programming, accounting, etc.) Our colleges and universities are still turning out liberal arts graduates. It used to be that any degree would open doors. That is just not the case any more. Our graduate degree programs that truly impart useable skills (generally) are so expensive much of our grad school enrolment is either international students (often paying US, in-state tuition or even on full scholarship) or first generation immigrants whose family will pauper themselves to provide the education. Students get degrees in radio-tv. The jobs (few) pay near minimums. The graduates FAR outstrip the demand and therefore the wages WILL NOT pay the student loan cost. This far from the only degree. 

I will add this; our students are spoiled. They expect to live in a single occupant room. preferably off-campus, party, have pets, and borrow to cover most if not all of it.  Parents, even those who nominally plan for it are really NOT prepared for it. Even if you have tuition paid, the costs of the fees, room and board, and just living expenses are beyond the ability of many of not most to pay without borrowing.  If you truly qualify for FISL's you probably will have to pay for 100% of them yourself. You parents as a whole are not going to be able to pay for them.

Many of the international students will live 8-10 in a 600 sf apartment. Many universities have 4-6 additional students covertly living in a dorm room intended for just two. 

In most Texas state universities if ANY student regardless of background (out of state or international) gets as little as $500. a semester in scholarship money, they get in-state tuition. 

Finally, I agree with you about the trades paying better than many degreed jobs. Most of the skilled craftsmen are over 45. There is and will be a large demand in the coming years. The problem is convincing upper 1/4 HS graduates that there is not more gold over the college rainbow. THese jobs are highly technical. People who struggled or didn't try and got nothing in high school will likely lack the math and science skills (and maybe the reasoning ability) to do well as a skilled craftsman.

[Bobby5280]

Day care costs have not changed relatively since the 1980's/ My wife could not afford to work when our kids were little.

Day care costs in the US are now averaging over $12,000 per year for a single infant and nearly $10,000 per year for a pre-schooler. My town isn't a high income location; a rates were around $80 per week per child a decade ago. Now local day care facilities are charging rates between $120 and $200 per week. In bigger cities with high costs of living the rates are even higher. A large number of day care facilities closed in recent years. The pandemic was one culprit for that. That helped push prices higher and create long wait lists. The situation is forcing more mothers to stay home. Women who don't yet have kids, but want to have a career, make their own money, etc are going to take steps to protect that earning power.

This is is part of the problem we have with generational poverty. Single parents cannot afford to work or are limited in when (and how much) they can work because of the cost of paying for daycare.

Single mothers have been in the catch-22 situation for a long time. Work even just a little bit in a crappy, low-wage service industry job and *poof* any government assistance gets greatly reduced. The situation is common knowledge to any young woman of child-bearing age. They know each kid they have is going to dig them into an even deeper financial hole. Teens and young adults are getting pretty good at not getting pregnant in the first place.

Our colleges and universities are still turning out liberal arts graduates. It used to be that any degree would open doors. That is just not the case any more.

This all gets back to the compound problems we have in public education. America doesn't value teaching as a profession very much any more. Talented people who would make great teachers choose a career with better pay and less stress. America has no uniform standards on curriculum. I know this personally, having grown up as a Marine Corps brat and attending numerous public schools in different parts of the nation. There are vast differences in quality from one school district to the next. Now the problem is getting worse with charter schools, politics, etc. Even in a ideal situation the students (and their parents) must pull their own weight too.

It's no wonder America's technology sector, engineering sector and medical sector rely greatly on a lot of foreign-born talent. To be fair, America has historically relied on a lot of imported brain power..

Too many of our native born kids are choosing study fields they consider "easy" or "cool" rather than pick something more challenging and with better money-making potential. But even if our native-born kids do have the smarts to be a computer scientist or structural engineer they may get financially shut out by the sheer high costs of college. Universities love accepting foreign-born students because they can appear "progressive" by doing so and then make more profit by those students paying more.

Most good-paying skilled trade jobs are dirty and physically demanding. Offices are clean and typically air conditioned.

[Anthony_JK]

Looks like the I-10 Calcasieu River Bridge project is back on track again.


KPLC-TV, the NBC affiliate in Lake Charles, has an article at its website page on Governor Jeff Landry announcing an agreement on a new revised contract between the state and Calcasieu Bridge Partners, the private firm designing and constructing the bridge replacement, which has the full support of local legislators. They had originally in June rejected a previous proposed contract due to their opposition to the toll rates, especially for larger trucks and locally registered vehicles.


The new agreement cuts the toll rate for large trucks from $12.50 to $8.25, and adds a small $0.25 toll for all locally registered vehicles within the 5 parish Lake Charles MPO area (Calcasieu, Cameron, Jeff Davis, Beauregard, Allen); Payments would be collected either by GeauxPass transponders available free of charge to locals (or for a small fee for HOV 3+ drivers) or billed through the mail. Medium sized trucks/trailers would pay the same rate as with the previous failed agreement ($2.55).


The other major change is that under the new agreement, Imperial Calcasieu, the public agency representing the MPO, would have a 15% stake in the profits from tolling, meaning that the MPO would get 15% of any profits gained from tolls on the new bridge, with no liability on losses. The profits could be used to reduce further the tolls on the bridge, or used for other projects within the area.


The agreement still has to be approved by the Port of Lake Charles ruling committee, and the same legislative committee that rejected the original agreement, but with such universal support this time from the Lake Charles delegation, it's basically a done deal.


Credit where credit's due. Good job, Gov. Now, do that same thing for the Lafayette Connector and I-49 South. No tolls this time, though.




KPLC article on new Calcasieu River Bridge agreement

[Rothman]

Ugh.  From a NY perspective, allowing MPOs a "piece of the pie" is foolhardy and could result in poor programming of those funds instead of keeping them in authority or State hands.

MPOs have legislative control over some federal funds.  Just offering up control over other funding is going to be a source of regret in the future.

(and it's Imperial Calcasieu, not Imperial Louisiana...although I have yet to see how exactly it "represents the MPO")

[sprjus4]

My only comment would be - LaDOTD should seriously consider accepting E-ZPass / TxTag transponders on this project. I-10 is a major east-west corridor connecting the E-ZPass states in the east (the entire east coast, except South Carolina, uses E-ZPass I believe) and a mega TxTag state to the west, and sees a significant amount of out of state, long haul traveling. Hitting everyone non-local with a toll-by-plate situation seems problematic.

[Bobby5280]

The tolling situation with the Calcasieu River Bridge is yet another example why we need a nationwide toll tag standard. That was supposed to happen years ago. It looks like no progress is being made at all in that direction.

Motorists taking road trips across multiple states face bad choices. They can have more than one RFID transponder in their vehicle and risk being double-charged on some toll roads. Or they can go with a single toll tag and get price-gouged by higher pay-by-plate fees on toll roads that don't support their toll tag. Here in Oklahoma the pay-by-plate fees are roughly double that of the PikePass rate. One national toll tag standard would solve those problems.

[vdeane]

Unfortunately, even a nationwide toll standard wouldn't stop price gouging.  Just look at all the transponder discrimination in E-ZPass-land.  Travel the Thruway with an E-ZPass issued outside NY?  You're stuck paying the pay by plate rate.

Another interesting thing on that front that may be relevant: the furthest south "native" E-ZPass state is Virginia.  North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida all accept E-ZPass (and have varying degrees of their transponders being accepted in turn), but maintain separate transponder systems (contrast to Illinois, which maintains its own branding, but is fully part of the system).  Although North Carolina is an odd case, as it was interoperable with both E-ZPass and SunPass since inception.  So saying "Florida is an E-ZPass state" might not be the motivation one would think.

[Anthony_JK]

Ugh.  From a NY perspective, allowing MPOs a "piece of the pie" is foolhardy and could result in poor programming of those funds instead of keeping them in authority or State hands.

MPOs have legislative control over some federal funds.  Just offering up control over other funding is going to be a source of regret in the future.

(and it's Imperial Calcasieu, not Imperial Louisiana...although I have yet to see how exactly it "represents the MPO")

I assumed that Imperial Calcasieu was the representative for the Lake Charles area MPO. My fault on that one. Original post has been corrected.

They did say that IC would get that 15% share of the toll take; they didn't say whether the toll would be administered by LADOTD, Calcasieu Bridge Partners, or GeauxPass. That's probably still to be determined.

I thought that GeauxPass was compatible with EZPass and other transponder services. You'd think with so many Texans travelling through, they'd consider allowing such compatibility....although, given that they had to reduce the tolls for the locals, I'm sure they don't want to lose any more revenue to the outsiders using the bridge. Let them shunpike over to I-210 or LA 12/US 190 through DeQuincy and Kinder, I suppose.

[sprjus4]

Unfortunately, even a nationwide toll standard wouldn't stop price gouging.  Just look at all the transponder discrimination in E-ZPass-land.  Travel the Thruway with an E-ZPass issued outside NY?  You're stuck paying the pay by plate rate.

True, but at least it can still be handled under one system. I traveled on I-90 a few months ago in upstate NY (beautiful drive, by the way), sure I payed a higher toll rate, but it was all under my Virginia E-ZPass account. I didn't have to worry about waiting for a bill in the mail, going online, and paying it. It was done seamlessly.

They did say that IC would get that 15% share of the toll take; they didn't say whether the toll would be administered by LADOTD, Calcasieu Bridge Partners, or GeauxPass. That's probably still to be determined.

I'm not sure how I feel about this... 15%? Why isn't all of the toll revenue going towards repaying the debt that paid for the bridge? Now a local transportation planning organization is collecting straight revenue off of it? - which means tolls will stay on even longer in the future.

I thought that GeauxPass was compatible with EZPass and other transponder services. You'd think with so many Texans travelling through, they'd consider allowing such compatibility....although, given that they had to reduce the tolls for the locals, I'm sure they don't want to lose any more revenue to the outsiders using the bridge. Let them shunpike over to I-210 or LA 12/US 190 through DeQuincy and Kinder, I suppose.

I'm sure a good amount will use I-210... it's not out of the way and will avoid the hassle off toll by plate. E-ZPass and TxTag are not compatible with GeauxPass, and they ought to at least accept those two transponders on the bridge.

Speaking in general here - Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas have toll interoperability, and the entire east coast, and even into the midwest has E-ZPass compatibility (19 states)... they ought to join and create a single interoperability network - along with Louisiana if this toll bridge is built. SunPass Pro is the only transponder currently that allows this - it provides interoperability with E-ZPass and the TxTag network.

[Scott5114]

Speaking in general here - Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas have toll interoperability, and the entire east coast, and even into the midwest has E-ZPass compatibility (19 states)... they ought to join and create a single interoperability network - along with Louisiana if this toll bridge is built. SunPass Pro is the only transponder currently that allows this - it provides interoperability with E-ZPass and the TxTag network.

They ought to, but it's not happening because the two of them use totally different equipment, and neither region wants to be the one to sink money into replacing everything to be compatible with the other. (I don't know if it's still the case, but at one point E-ZPass had the bigger install base but more antiquated equipment. So TX/OK/KS didn't want to spend money on what is effectively a downgrade from their perspective, and E-ZPass didn't want to change because they felt the system with more users shouldn't have to change to accommodate for compatibility with the system with fewer users.)

[sprjus4]

Speaking in general here - Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas have toll interoperability, and the entire east coast, and even into the midwest has E-ZPass compatibility (19 states)... they ought to join and create a single interoperability network - along with Louisiana if this toll bridge is built. SunPass Pro is the only transponder currently that allows this - it provides interoperability with E-ZPass and the TxTag network.

They ought to, but it's not happening because the two of them use totally different equipment, and neither region wants to be the one to sink money into replacing everything to be compatible with the other. (I don't know if it's still the case, but at one point E-ZPass had the bigger install base but more antiquated equipment. So TX/OK/KS didn't want to spend money on what is effectively a downgrade from their perspective, and E-ZPass didn't want to change because they felt the system with more users shouldn't have to change to accommodate for compatibility with the system with fewer users.)

Couldn't E-ZPass and/or TX/OK/KS roll out a new version of their perspective passes that has the ability to read the technology from both sets of equipment?

Florida has the SunPass Pro that can work with both the E-ZPass and TX/OK/KS systems, whereas the standard SunPass doesn't even work outside of FL/GA/NC I believe.

[J N Winkler]

I have seen a blurb to the effect that the Illinois Tollway is phasing out the current soap-bar I-Pass in favor of a sticker.  It is supposed to maintain interoperability with other E-ZPass agencies, though I don't know whether this means a protocol change has come to E-ZPassland, or whether protocol convergence will form the future basis of interoperability with the Texas/Oklahoma/Kansas zone.

[Scott5114]

Speaking in general here - Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas have toll interoperability, and the entire east coast, and even into the midwest has E-ZPass compatibility (19 states)... they ought to join and create a single interoperability network - along with Louisiana if this toll bridge is built. SunPass Pro is the only transponder currently that allows this - it provides interoperability with E-ZPass and the TxTag network.

They ought to, but it's not happening because the two of them use totally different equipment, and neither region wants to be the one to sink money into replacing everything to be compatible with the other. (I don't know if it's still the case, but at one point E-ZPass had the bigger install base but more antiquated equipment. So TX/OK/KS didn't want to spend money on what is effectively a downgrade from their perspective, and E-ZPass didn't want to change because they felt the system with more users shouldn't have to change to accommodate for compatibility with the system with fewer users.)

Couldn't E-ZPass and/or TX/OK/KS roll out a new version of their perspective passes that has the ability to read the technology from both sets of equipment?

They could. They don't really want to, though. It would cost money (rule #1 of running a government agency in Oklahoma is never spend money on anything ever for any reason), and I doubt the political leadership in Texas and Oklahoma imagines any resident of their state would ever stoop so low as to visit [shudder] Chicago or New York. "Don't y'all know you get shot two hundred and thirteen times every millisecond any time you're in Chicago city limits?" I hear them saying.

Meanwhile, in Texas, it seems like just about anyone can create their own toll highway authority, at any time, for any reason. I'm fairly sure there are hairdressers, dogs, and cow pastures with their own toll highway authorities in Texas. It's hard getting all of those toll authorities just to accept the Texas tag, much less one from commie E-ZPass land.

Poor Kansas is just along for the ride on this one.

[vdeane]

I have seen a blurb to the effect that the Illinois Tollway is phasing out the current soap-bar I-Pass in favor of a sticker.  It is supposed to maintain interoperability with other E-ZPass agencies, though I don't know whether this means a protocol change has come to E-ZPassland, or whether protocol convergence will form the future basis of interoperability with the Texas/Oklahoma/Kansas zone.

There might have been.  The MassPike went with mainline gantries for their AET conversion, and the Pennsylvania Turnpike did too.  Even the Thruway's hybrid system uses back-office processing to figure out where people went on the virtual ticket systems (and with respect to the exit 24-25A free ride) instead of the old way of having the transponder record where you entered and relay that back to the exit toll barrier (that's one of the reasons tolls take so long for the Thruway to process these days).

[Rothman]

Ugh.  From a NY perspective, allowing MPOs a "piece of the pie" is foolhardy and could result in poor programming of those funds instead of keeping them in authority or State hands.

MPOs have legislative control over some federal funds.  Just offering up control over other funding is going to be a source of regret in the future.

(and it's Imperial Calcasieu, not Imperial Louisiana...although I have yet to see how exactly it "represents the MPO")

I assumed that Imperial Calcasieu was the representative for the Lake Charles area MPO. My fault on that one. Original post has been corrected.

They did say that IC would get that 15% share of the toll take; they didn't say whether the toll would be administered by LADOTD, Calcasieu Bridge Partners, or GeauxPass. That's probably still to be determined.

I thought that GeauxPass was compatible with EZPass and other transponder services. You'd think with so many Texans travelling through, they'd consider allowing such compatibility....although, given that they had to reduce the tolls for the locals, I'm sure they don't want to lose any more revenue to the outsiders using the bridge. Let them shunpike over to I-210 or LA 12/US 190 through DeQuincy and Kinder, I suppose.

Not sure why an MPO would even need representation at all, come to think of it.

[Bobby5280]

The trend of infrastructure costs dramatically outpacing core inflation rates and income growth will eventually yield dire consequences.

Infrastructure costs are significantly higher in metros like NYC and LA, but the rising costs are getting passed down across all of the nation. Small towns and rural areas with aging populations and shrinking tax bases will be less able to pay for upkeep on streets, county roads, bridges, etc. These same areas struggle to afford police departments, emergency response service (fire/medical) and public schools. Reduced ability to afford street maintenance will help speed up the depopulating process in those areas.

There is a gravitational pull drawing people to larger metro areas. But land, housing and other living costs are higher there. Infrastructure costs in those locations will keep rising. Eventually something is going to have to give. Simple math does NOT support this bullshit going on forever.

The looming "silver tsunami" in residential real estate that is due to hit around 2040 could be a lot worse than economic forecasters are predicting. These guys are counting on a whole lot of people in Generation Z and younger to buy up all the homes Baby Boomers leave behind when they want to downsize. Not everyone in Gen Z needs a 3000 square foot McMansion. Many of them aren't getting married or having kids. So they don't need all that extra space. They probably won't want those high utility bills and property taxes either. Many of those big homes will need tens of thousands in repairs too. 20 years from now I think there will be a glut of huge yet unwanted homes sitting empty. The streets servicing those homes will be far less used. I think smaller homes that cost less to own and maintain will be a lot more popular in the future. That will make a big impact on city planning issues like street funding and maintenance.

[kalvado]

I have seen a blurb to the effect that the Illinois Tollway is phasing out the current soap-bar I-Pass in favor of a sticker.  It is supposed to maintain interoperability with other E-ZPass agencies, though I don't know whether this means a protocol change has come to E-ZPassland, or whether protocol convergence will form the future basis of interoperability with the Texas/Oklahoma/Kansas zone.

There might have been.  The MassPike went with mainline gantries for their AET conversion, and the Pennsylvania Turnpike did too.  Even the Thruway's hybrid system uses back-office processing to figure out where people went on the virtual ticket systems (and with respect to the exit 24-25A free ride) instead of the old way of having the transponder record where you entered and relay that back to the exit toll barrier (that's one of the reasons tolls take so long for the Thruway to process these days).

I don't believe ezpass tags are that smart to relay anything beyond their serial number to the reader.

[Urban Prairie Schooner]

The trend of infrastructure costs dramatically outpacing core inflation rates and income growth will eventually yield dire consequences.

Infrastructure costs are significantly higher in metros like NYC and LA, but the rising costs are getting passed down across all of the nation. Small towns and rural areas with aging populations and shrinking tax bases will be less able to pay for upkeep on streets, county roads, bridges, etc. These same areas struggle to afford police departments, emergency response service (fire/medical) and public schools. Reduced ability to afford street maintenance will help speed up the depopulating process in those areas.

There is a gravitational pull drawing people to larger metro areas. But land, housing and other living costs are higher there. Infrastructure costs in those locations will keep rising. Eventually something is going to have to give. Simple math does NOT support this bullshit going on forever.

The looming "silver tsunami" in residential real estate that is due to hit around 2040 could be a lot worse than economic forecasters are predicting. These guys are counting on a whole lot of people in Generation Z and younger to buy up all the homes Baby Boomers leave behind when they want to downsize. Not everyone in Gen Z needs a 3000 square foot McMansion. Many of them aren't getting married or having kids. So they don't need all that extra space. They probably won't want those high utility bills and property taxes either. Many of those big homes will need tens of thousands in repairs too. 20 years from now I think there will be a glut of huge yet unwanted homes sitting empty. The streets servicing those homes will be far less used. I think smaller homes that cost less to own and maintain will be a lot more popular in the future. That will make a big impact on city planning issues like street funding and maintenance.

And doubtful that Gen Z will be much interested in purchasing 1970s-style homes with dark brick, little natural light, and wood paneled walls even if they wanted to buy a house.

[Bobby5280]

Actually, I'm talking about all the "modern" McMansions that have been built since the 1990's. Baby Boomers have been the primary buyers of such houses. Not nearly as many of the buyers are in the Generation X group. Millennials have been screwed badly coming of age at the wrong time. So the real estate industry is counting on younger generations to buy up all that inventory the Boomers leave behind. That's not going to automatically happen.

We actually have another "too big to fail" problem looming in housing: all the "institutional" buyers that have been gobbling up residential real estate. Their activity has been putting a hard floor under these high housing prices. Still, math is math. And the current situation does not balance in the black at all. When this housing bubble finally pops all these big institutional buyers are going to go running to Uncle Sam begging for a bail out.

[bwana39]

My only comment would be - LaDOTD should seriously consider accepting E-ZPass / TxTag transponders on this project. I-10 is a major east-west corridor connecting the E-ZPass states in the east (the entire east coast, except South Carolina, uses E-ZPass I believe) and a mega TxTag state to the west, and sees a significant amount of out of state, long haul traveling. Hitting everyone non-local with a toll-by-plate situation seems problematic.

"Texas as a TXTag State". As I have said other places, The NTTA TollTag was the first of the three tags in Texas. The HCTRA EZ Tag came next. It ORIGINALLY was going to adopt the EZPass technology, but due to the lower implementation costs, went with the same platform as the TollTag. Lastly came the TxTag.

My reasoning for being like I am about it, is because people searching for a Texas tag might think of this as an endorsement or that the TxTag is the defacto choice. The raw numbers are that NTTA has over 4 million tags issued, HCTRA has about 3.6 million, and the TXTag is a little over 3 million.  All of them have identical toll road interoperability and the TollTag can be used for DFW Airport as well.

The TxTag has terrible customer service. NTTA (TollTag) has better customer service, easier replacement, etc. The EZTag (HCTRA) is last place. They charge for cards, have a higher initial deposit, and just in general suck.  HCTRA is part of the Harris County Government. It is like dealing with well...the government.

[sprjus4]

My only comment would be - LaDOTD should seriously consider accepting E-ZPass / TxTag transponders on this project. I-10 is a major east-west corridor connecting the E-ZPass states in the east (the entire east coast, except South Carolina, uses E-ZPass I believe) and a mega TxTag state to the west, and sees a significant amount of out of state, long haul traveling. Hitting everyone non-local with a toll-by-plate situation seems problematic.

"Texas as a TXTag State". As I have said other places, The NTTA TollTag was the first of the three tags in Texas. The HCTRA EZ Tag came next. It ORIGINALLY was going to adopt the EZPass technology, but due to the lower implementation costs, went with the same platform as the TollTag. Lastly came the TxTag.

My reasoning for being like I am about it, is because people searching for a Texas tag might think of this as an endorsement or that the TxTag is the defacto choice. The raw numbers are that NTTA has over 4 million tags issued, HCTRA has about 3.6 million, and the TXTag is a little over 3 million.  All of them have identical toll road interoperability and the TollTag can be used for DFW Airport as well.

The TxTag has terrible customer service. NTTA (TollTag) has better customer service, easier replacement, etc. The EZTag (HCTRA) is last place. They charge for cards, have a higher initial deposit, and just in general suck.  HCTRA is part of the Harris County Government. It is like dealing with well...the government.

I got a TxTag back in 2021 and used it quite a few times in Kansas and across Texas (Dallas, Austin, Houston) and never had any issues with it at the time. Granted, it's been a couple of years...

Either way, I'm not "endorsing" one particular tag. They all work across the state, and ought to all be interoperable with the E-ZPass network.

[civilengineeringnerd]

i can tell you people what actually needs to happen:
at the federal level, a radical raise in gas taxes and a EV charging tax built inot the gas taxes, on top of it, gas taxes should be mandated to raise per year based on construction costs. on top of it, EIS studies should be restricted to 1 year, not 3, but at the same time the local public should also chime in.
and basic education on infrastructure costs should be made mandatory to graduate high school, among the basics on how our infrastructure works in the country and tolls should be allowed everywhere and even mandated for bridges and tunnels, among other big and expensive infrastructure projects.
at the state level, it should be the same, but more localized within the states, and the counties should all be able to have a lot of leeway regarding raises to sales and gas taxation.
in tennessee for example, counties aren't allowed to raise gas taxes for local infrastructure projects, its the same for sales taxes. it sucks but that can only work for so long.