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World's Longest Sea Bridge Opens After 9 Years of Construction (go.com)
Chinese President Xi Jinping inaugurated China's latest mega-infrastructure project on Tuesday: The world's longest sea crossing. From a report: The 34.2-mile bridge and tunnel that have been almost a decade in the making for the first time connect the semi-autonomous cities of Hong Kong and Macau to the mainland Chinese city of Zhuhai by road. The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge spans the mouth of the Pearl River and significantly cuts the commuting time between the three cities. The previously four-hour drive between Zhuhai and Hong Kong will now take 45 minutes. One section of the crossing dives underwater into a 4.2 mile tunnel that creates a channel above for large cargo ship containers to pass through. The project came in over budget -- with Hong Kong alone investing $15 billion in it -- and delayed, as it was originally slate to open in 2016.
Jeff Bezos is not broke. Bill Gates is not broke. The US has plenty of money, it's just concentrated in the hands of a few private individuals.
A 20 billion dollar bridge is a win?
Estimate 1% annual maintenance cost, 3% cost of capital.
800 million/year...US$15,220/lanehour...
If it actually saved 3 hours/trip that wouldn't be too bad, but it's enabling cars to go to cities with no place to park them. Replacing a few train trips with car trips.
We'll see how much traffic it gets. Bet it never covers it's costs.
You should move all your money into Shanghai trades stocks. Do it.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
Careful what you admire. It's amazing how much cheaper something is when you take worker rights out of the equation.
America doesn't build great infrastructure like this anymore. We're broke and getting more in debt every day.
The reason nothing is built in America is dysfunctional politics: Gridlock at the national level, combined with NIMBYism at the local level.
If something on this scale was attempted in America, we would spend $15B just on legal fees.
They already have a train. They don't have parking in Hong Kong and Macau for enough car traffic to justify the cost of the bridge.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
Hong Kong will revert back to full Chinese control in a few decades, and this bridge is them literally extending their reach to the island, and making their presence and influence felt as early as possible.
Vox Borders has a great video about the larger political tensions and strategies that this bridge is a part of:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
11 people died during construction of the Golden Gate bridge. And that is considered pretty good. So yeah.
We already build most of our giant infrastructure projects years ago.
Your statement implies there is no further need for large infrastructure projects in the US which is plainly not true. Furthermore we have done a rather shitty job of maintaining the infrastructure we have and our public transit options (especially trains) are terrible in most of the country. Our power infrastructure needs rather substantial updating and modernization. Ask Flint Michigan it it's a good idea to never upgrade your water pipes for a century.
Infrastructure isn't something you build once and never worry about again. For a society to grow it needs to keep investing in it in ways both big and small.
Where are they going to park them?
That number implies 3.4 cars per lane minute. Pretty close to the capacity of the bridge.
Check your math, you lost a zero. That's about $80/crossing, if they can keep the bridge busy 24x7. To cover ongoing costs, will never pay the 20 billion off.
The big dig was also a huge waste, but big government is going to big government. At least the big dig has actual traffic to justify it.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
The bridge is not for private cars. Indeed, the average person is not allowed to drive on this bridge. It primarily for freight and that will actually reduce pollution and to an extent congestion as vehicles can enter Hong Kong from the mainland and leave on the same day.
So yeah, it's a lot of money but one can make an economic case for it.
One could argue the political case is more important. China has been gradually cutting back freedoms and exerting power and influence over Hong Kong which even since the handover from British control has been fairly independent. By making it much easier to go back and forth from the island to the mainland it brings the island closer to government control and eases assimilation as Hong Kong residents will feel less like outsiders and more like Chinese.
The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
Maybe instead of using a threshold like "billionaire" you could use something a little less arbitrary. Maybe, say, the top 1% of wealth holders?
You're off with the corporate profits though. US corporations apparently take in about 8 trillion a year in profit. Even the US government, the largest in the world, could operate quite happily on a bit more than a third of that.
The bridge is not for private cars. Indeed, the average person is not allowed to drive on this bridge. It primarily for freight and that will actually reduce pollution and to an extent congestion as vehicles can enter Hong Kong from the mainland and leave on the same day.
Freight may get the most use of the bridge- but they're not the real reason either- politics is. This is a physical link- China to wantaway Hong Kong. Just like the interstate system was originally designed for defence purposes (but gets lots of benefits to trade and travel in peace time)- the bridge is a military and political animal that will get lots of use from freight otherwise.
There should be no doubt though- this bridge was partially to be a political show to Hong Kong and partially to be a great way to get tanks and troops to Hong Kong quickly should they ever be troublesome about one party rule.
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
"Calling "literature degrees" worthless is not the same thing as saying you need a STEM degree to make a decent living. You forget that there is a third option. Forgo college and instead go into carpentry, plumbing, electrical, or some other trade."
I thought Uber drivers all studied literature.
A big chunk of Phase 1's cost is the tracks between Caltrain & BART @ San Jose and somewhere around Modesto, which will get dual-use... LA-SF, and also SF-Modesto commuter rail. It's needed regardless of LA-bound trains. LA-SF is just frosting on the cake... regional commuter rail is the big prize, because it'll open up the Central Valley as East Silicon Valley.
Likewise, Brightline intends to extend Las Vegas-Victorville to Palmdale to connect with CALHSR, so you'll also be able to take the train from SF to Las Vegas (probably BEFORE it's 100% HSR the last ~50 miles into L.A.).
Worst-case, 50 years from now, CALHSR repurposes the bridge structures for vacuum supersonic maglev. The important thing will be ROW-preservation. In 50 years, central valley land will be as expensive & urban as the bay area is today, and CALHSR will be viewed as a spectacularly fortunate real-estate investment, if nothing else.
Considering China's enthusiasm for HSR, it does seem bizarre that they didn't just design another ~25 feet into the whole thing to make room for a pair of HSR tracks while they were at it. The marginal cost would have been fairly low, and it would have turned HK & Macau into the equivalent of a casual crosstown trip for each other.
America doesn't build great infrastructure like this anymore. We're broke and getting more in debt every day.
The reason nothing is built in America is dysfunctional politics: Gridlock at the national level, combined with NIMBYism at the local level.
If something on this scale was attempted in America, we would spend $15B just on legal fees.
It's true that the American political system is not as efficient as the Chinese one. That's both good and bad. Capital-intensive projects take a long time and money in the US, which is bad. In China, grand projects like $17-billion bridges and $32-billion dams get fast-tracked, as do ghost cities and concentration camps.
Those would be baristas
Everything above is my opinion....YMMV