Agencies without Agency: How Dispersed Power Derails Transportation Infrastructure
A piece by Brian Potter of Construction Physics explaining the issues driving up the costs and risks of transit projects in America
His main argument is about control. U.S. transit agencies are nominally responsible for delivering projects, but much of their authority has been dispersed across regulators, courts, local governments, other agencies, utilities, and organized stakeholders like local populations and unions.
Compounding the issue is the hollowing out of technical expertise which makes transit agencies “bad customers” that cannot effectively design projects, supervise consultants and contractors, control costs, or resist unnecessary complexity.
As a result we have a system where many actors can demand changes, delays, and concessions, and no one has authority over cost or design. He outlines some prescriptions at the end.
Highly recommend for people who are interested Abundance/state capacity.