China, U.K. pursue major rail projects; U.S. does not
Unlike almost every other developed nation, the United States has no national transportation strategy; the nation fails to raise taxes that are supposed to pay for roads and rails. Gasoline taxes, for example, cover only about 50 percent of road projects, much lower than in the past, according to recent Federal Highway Administration figures; once the U.S. recognizes that it needs diversified and integrated air, rail and road transportation, it could well end up importing the technologies, products and expertise it has failed to develop
The train from Shibi in Guanghzou to Hong Kong will reach speeds of 217 mph before arriving at a 15-story atrium topped by thin ribbons of solid roof alternating with glass. This is the $8.6 billion West Kowloon Terminus, fed by 88 miles (141 kilometers) of high-speed rail. The package was commissioned in 2009, began construction this year and will start receiving passengers in 2015. And it is not the only eye-opening rail project in progress today.
In London, builders are preparing to tunnel a length of thirteen miles under the city’s center for the eight-station Crossrail project. It will move about 200 million passengers annually beneath one of the most intensively built urban areas in the world. The $25 billion undertaking remains intact despite British budget cuts.
Bloomberg reports that by comparison, the 9-mile Hudson River tunnel project that New Jersey governor Chris Christie canceled in October seems puny. Christie dropped it because he claimed the $8.7 billion budget would rise as high as $14 billion. The message: One of the wealthiest states in the United States can not manage a major infrastructure project.
It was not a lavish design. The tunnel would dump 45,000 peak-hour passengers on a long, nondescript concourse deep below the streets of midtown Manhattan, leading to a bleak 14-story ascent on cramped stacks of escalators.
James Russell writes that “The governor’s small thinking is shared by newly elected governors and members of Congress who have pledged to cut rail investments, even projects already approved. Meanwhile, the tax- cut package just signed into law leaves little room for direct investment.”
Russell notes that unlike almost every other developed nation, the United States has no national transportation strategy. The nation fails to raise taxes that are supposed to pay for roads and rails. Gasoline taxes, for example, cover only about 50 percent of road projects, much lower than in the past, according to recent Federal Highway Administration figures.
America is also not developing the design, construction and management capacity to build on a large scale to global standards.
Looking at renderings of the West Kowloon Cultural District, Russell says he sees giant roof-supporting columns that ascend through the 600-foot- long atrium like intertwined tree limbs. From the exterior, the heavily planted roof, threaded with walkways, curves in a great U around a park-like plaza, which will lead to the West Kowloon Cultural District, a waterfront complex of parks and arts institutions that will rise just to the south.
“I am willing to bet that the 15-track station’s 4.6 million square feet of engineering bravura couldn’t be built by any U.S. contractor,” Russell notes.
The budget for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s PATH Terminal at Ground Zero ballooned to $3.2 billion from $2 billion, according to the Port Authority. The Metropolitan Transit Authority’s upgraded Fulton Street transit interchange has risen to $1.4 billion from $750 million in 2004, according to the MTA.
How do they do it in Hong Kong? Labor costs are much lower in China, of course, and the government does not have to observe the extensive public-consultation niceties that slow projects in the United States and Europe. Still, this is not the whole story.
U.S. architect Andrew Bromberg is leading the West Kowloon Terminus design for Aedas, a 39-office architecture giant. “The design process is not radically different than in the States,” he said. “But decisions are made quicker, and there’s less fear because megaprojects are commonplace in this part of the world.”
Global firms like Bromberg’s can take advantage of rapidly advancing building technology and computer-aided design. They help make complex assemblies easier to construct and their costs easier to track. U.S. firms can not ride this wave of innovation if they have no projects to apply it to.
“Once the U.S. recognizes that it needs diversified and integrated air, rail and road transportation, it could well end up importing the technologies, products and expertise it has failed to develop. Already talented architects like Bromberg, as well as engineers, builders and managers, are taking their acumen to places more welcoming,” Russell concludes.
