Although data for public transportation infrastructure construction costs (e.g., new rail lines, high-occupancy-vehicle lanes, and busways) are reported to the Federal Transit Administration National Transit Database, data are not reported by complete project—only by year by mode, which could cover several projects being constructed simultaneously. Also, most projects are constructed over a period of several years, and only broad category data (vehicles, facilities, and other) are reported. Details on mileage, number of stations, size of parking lots, and other variables are not reported. Dozens of variables impact the cost of a project, and some costs, such as the quality of construction and the artistic beauty of a project, cannot be accurately measured. A few of those variables include:
1) land acquisition,
2) land clearance and demolition,
3) relocation of existing businesses and residences,
4) availability of “free” or low-cost right-of-way such as abandoned railroads,
5) utility relocation,
6) number, size, and length of stations,
7) number of tracks or lanes,
8) length of trackage or roadway,
9) number and size of maintenance yards and facilities,
10) proportion in deep tunnel, shallow tunnel, on the surface, and elevated,
11) number and size of parking lots or garages,
12) number and size of bridges,
13) station and right of way enhancements such as landscaping, works of art, information kiosks, benches, telephones, concession booths, fountains, etc.,
14) type and number of fare vending and collection machines,
15) inflation over the several-year time period needed for most projects,
16) the going labor costs for and number of construction workers,
17) type and number of propulsion, signal, communication, and other
operating systems,
18) when the project was constructed,
19) the number of vehicles required,
20) interest and other financing charges.
For these reasons, it is not possible to develop accurate comparative construction cost data on a per-mile or any other basis since the detailed data on the above (and other) variables are not reported to allow identification of comparable projects.
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