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Transport Economics - Government Failure in Roadbuilding?

Geoff Riley

28th June 2011

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A controversial motorway extension in Scotland is set to open. Glasgow’s new £657m M74 extension set to open (BBC News). The 6-lane elevated M74 extension is over-budget at a cost of £657m, which works out at £131m per mile or £75,000 a yard (£80,000 a metre). How can road extensions cost so much? Can the costs be justified by the suggested economic benefits? The BBC article provides a good mini-case study in transport cost-benefit analysis. Here are some other supporting links:

Building Design: Urban motorway divides Glasgow

The Scotsman: M74 link ‘won’t ease Glasgow’s congestion nightmare’

STV: M74 extension ‘could lead to 700 new jobs’

Daily Record: Greens voice concern as motorway extension opens three years behind schedule

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Geoff Riley

Geoff Riley FRSA has been teaching Economics for nearly forty years. He has over twenty years experience as Head of Economics at leading schools. He writes extensively and is a contributor and presenter on CPD and Revision conferences in the UK and overseas.

@tutor2uGeoff

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