Recently, I had a conversation about the I-95 Express lanes. Simply put, these are special commuter lanes that allow others to use the lanes at a price. The lanes were funded and built by private enterprise on state-owned land. The builders get an ownership stake in the lanes, they recover their investment through the tolls, and any excess profit is returned to the state.
Some people oppose the arrangement. I like it. I realize that without the arrangement, the project would not have happened because the government couldn't afford it.
However, there's a complaint about the project that I can't ignore. Where the lanes end, they create a bottle-neck at a location that was already a major choke point along the corridor. Eventually, the lanes are to be extended to a point that should eliminate this problem but that extension is in a future phase that has not yet been given a start date.
This all brings me to my point. Well, more like a conspiracy theory. You see, the tolls aren't fixed. They fluctuate with the volume; more cars equal higher tolls. I don't have evidence but I'm wondering if the "design flaw" creating the bottle-neck isn't deliberate.
As a student of human nature. I know greed is natural. My last blog entry covered that. If you were building a project where your profits increased with use and you had a design that forced increased use, it'd be like finding the goose that laid golden eggs. What would stop you from doing it?
Additionally, what if you knew it also increased demand for you to build your next project?
Again, I don't have any evidence. I just know what I know about the project and human nature. However, I do think it's important to ask questions.
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