I-73: Weighing the Costs

This report was conceived in order to address the lack of information available to the general public on the economic impact of the proposed I-73 project in the Roanoke Valley of Virginia and surrounding areas. The author reviews current trends in highway economics from sources such as the Congressional Budget Office and the Federal Highway Administration, then reveals those benefits and costs of the I-73 project which have not yet been thoroughly calculated.  The report contains rates of return and benefit cost ratios for nationwide highway construction and maintenance projects. It emphasizes the inefficiency of investment in new, rural highways and therefore suggests close scrutiny of the I-73 project. The author outlines what information would be necessary to calculate a benefit-cost ratio for the I-73 project, then demonstrates that very little of this information is currently available, either from Virginia Deparment of Transportation or the Economic Impact Study commissioned by the City of Roanoke.This report recommends that a detailed benefit-cost analysis of the I-73 project be performed before the citizens and community leaders proceed.

This report is being made available to the public through this website.
You can view the report either in its original Power Point form or in a text version.

View the Power Point Presentation I-73 Weighing the Costs
View the Paper I-73 Weighing the Costs

Research and presentation of this report was made possible by the Cabell Brand Center for International Poverty and Resource Studies. All statements other than those cited are my own and do not represent the opinions held by this or any other group or organization.

Please feel free to print and reproduce this report for the purposes of discussion of I-73 or other highway-related economic issues. However, I would like to know when it is being used. If you plan to cite or disseminate this report, please email me at emanetta@sas.upenn.edujust to let me know. Thank you.