INDIANA PARLEY

Over the next two days the legislature will be debating the merits of a plan to finance a range of transportation projects in Indiana. Very good economic models exist that measure how adding highway capacity through the addition of lanes or other means will increase productivity.

That is, there are some very good tools to make a cost/benefit analysis of highway improvements. Then there are highway expenditures that don't increase transportation productivity.

The I-69 fence is one of those projects. There may be other benefits advanced by its advocates but those benefits aren't easily calculated. The benefits may flow to private residential property owners. Then there are some losses that attach to certain commercial properties. (e.g. businesses located between the Lima Road and Coldwater Road interchanges).

The benefit to the residential properties are generally going to be related to the property's ultimate resale value. The commercial losses are of two types. One is a decrease in property value relative to the value of the property with the benefit of visibility. The other is the loss of commercial traffic which results in an ongoing loss of potential income.

And, of course, not all of the costs are included in the initial construction contract. There are costs of maintenance and reconstruction. (The hard surface of the fence has already been a factor in one fatality along I-69).

One of the other costs is illustrated above.

The photos were taken January 28, 2005 between the Illinois Road and Jefferson Boulevard/US 24 interchanges.

# posted by Mitch : 1:40 PM