When governments try to manage infrastructure the results are usually disastrous. Wasteful investment, bloated bureaucracies and political interference are the frequent consequences of state control.
Government owned motorways are no exception. In most countries they are cursed with chronic congestion and delays. Typically there is overcrowding in some locations and overcapacity in others. The supply of road space is almost completely divorced from consumer demand. This is because motorway networks are supplied using methods that are thinly disguised versions of Soviet central planning. Politicians and senior officials decide where new routes will be built with little regard for the needs of road users.
Typically decisions are heavily influenced by special interests. Local or regional governments, together with large corporations, might argue that they need a new motorway to boost economic development in their local area. They will lobby fiercely for funding from national governments or the European Union. Unfortunately this…
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