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Culture of Inertia Dooms Big Public Works Projects in U.S.

Posted on: Tuesday, 12 July 2005, 09:01 CDT

If pragmatic action isn't taken soon to resolve differences over public works projects, our economy could be seriously harmed. The federal government -- not just New York State and other states finding themselves unable to break the gridlock over infrastructure improvements -- must do more to counter this very real danger.

Anyone who thinks this country is serious about building large public works projects should consider how difficult it is to get anything built, whether it's a highway or public transit improvement, an electricity transmission system or a new power plant. No matter how worthwhile the project and how many construction jobs and permanent new jobs it will create, when dissent builds, we too often back down.

This culture of inertia has become a scourge not only in New York State but in many other places around the United States. All too often large projects, especially infrastructure improvements, have been held up or abandoned when there's conflict.

Major construction contributes to economic growth. The nation is entitled to the benefits that come with new public works. We live in a period of murderous trade competition, and sagging confidence in the ability of our own industries and financial institutions. More than ever before, we need political leadership to put some muscle into the economy. The last thing we can afford is paralysis.

The scandalous neglect of our aging transportation infrastructure is a prime example. Most Americans would agree that our highways, public transit, airports, ports and waterways are not adequate for our needs. Not only are many of our highways and bridges in disrepair, they are stretched to the limit, causing bottlenecks that result in millions of people sitting in traffic a half-hour or more each day.

In terms of wasted time and fuel alone, the cost of gridlock is astounding -- an estimated $60 billion annually. But it is also delaying the delivery of goods, reducing labor productivity and raising costs. As traffic worsens, companies are discouraged from bringing business and jobs to urban areas.

Inadequate funding is the greatest impediment to improving highways and public transit systems. But also to blame are overly burdensome government regulations and business-bashing groups that have stopped such projects as the Hudson River Expressway, the Long Island Sound Crossing, and highways in Albany, Buffalo and other cities. It takes an average of 12 years to complete the permit process for a new highway or bridge. The upshot is that a number of major projects have been abandoned, with adverse consequences for traffic congestion and safety.

Inertia also affects the energy sector. Despite concerns about U.S. energy security, in recent years there has been a virtual hiatus in construction of large power plants, natural gas pipelines, oil refineries and new transmission lines. One example: there hasn't been an order for a new nuclear plant that's been completed since 1973. And that has left us increasingly exposed to high oil and natural gas prices and the threat of supply disruptions. Countries in Europe and Asia, meanwhile, are building nuclear power plants based on U.S. reactor designs, because they see nuclear power as the only way to provide large amounts of electricity without contributing to global warming.

To help solve this crisis, the U.S. government has adopted regulatory changes that would enable nuclear plants to be built in six years instead of the 10 years or more that it took to complete plants in the 1970s and 1980s. Now companies will be able to obtain a combined construction and operating license in three years or less. This combined license should reduce uncertainty in terms of potential for delays in bringing a plant into operation after a substantial amount of capital has been invested.

Groups of nuclear-generation companies are currently testing this new licensing process to make sure it works as intended. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, meanwhile, has certified standardized designs of three plants for construction, and two others are under study. Designs for still other types of advanced reactors like the Pebble Bed reactor, which can be built in smaller modules, are being developed.

Nonetheless, Wall Street is still worried about the possibility that anti-nuclear activists might find a way to intervene in the licensing process and cause capital and interest costs to rise during plant construction. The financial community understandably doesn't want to see a repeat of what took place years ago, when utilities encountered long and unnecessary delays. Congress needs to take this into account and provide loan guarantees and other risk insurance for construction of the first few nuclear plants.

The danger here is that if nothing is done to help bring nuclear power back, we will wind up relying increasingly on fossil fuels that pollute the air and pour greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Anti-nuclear groups say there's another alternative -- renewable energy sources. But solar and wind are too intermittent to provide the enormous amounts of electricity that our society requires.

Yet there is a legacy in the United States of working out our differences. Successful resolution of conflicts between industries and environmental groups makes it clear that conflict is neither the right nor the necessary way. Where both sides recognize that the country's greatest intellectual asset is technological innovation, industries and environmental groups benefit and so do the rest of us. No one strategy can produce the ideal plan for resolution of differences -- whether it be a power plant, highway project or public transit facility; each must be fashioned with great care.

Now, more than ever, we must work to keep America strong. It won't happen if we fail to improve our infrastructure or run away from projects that require an aggressive effort and patience to complete. Only then can we build a stable economy, achieve our environmental aspirations and improve U.S. energy security.

Phillip Bayne is a past president of the New York Power Authority.

Source: Buffalo News

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