Infrastructure agency significant step forward – EMA
EMA is pleased its long time call for a comprehensive solution to how New Zealand invests in and delivers vital infrastructure projects has made a significant step forward today.
Infrastructure Minister, Shane Jones, announced at Infrastructure New Zealand’s Building Nations Symposium a new entity will be established to provide expert advice, planning and strategy to support the delivery of major infrastructure projects across the country.
“This has been a long time coming. We commend the Minister for taking the step to effectively create an agency which will have the mandate to pull together the long-term pipeline of our infrastructure needs,” says Kim Campbell, CEO, EMA.
“Agencies such as these have worked well overseas. This is a vital component of building the vibrant and productive economy the Government has stated it wants. Hopefully, this entity will be independent, future focused and empowered to make decisions which will take New Zealand forward and transcend the electoral cycle.
“We, along with Infrastructure New Zealand, have been calling for an independent agency of this nature for some time, as the nation grapples with how to fund and manage its infrastructure shortfall.
“We hope this newly announced entity will help manage the risk profile associated with large scale projects that are now required and provide a way forward for many local authorities struggling with inadequate infrastructure.”
We hope this new agency EMA recommends regional rail to take trucks off the roads that are now the most danerous roads in the developed world now.
One truck wears the road surface 9600 times faster than one car does according to a US study from engineers, according to a US gov’t GAO study.
https://www.vabike.org/vehicle-weight-and-road-damage/
Vehicle Weight and Road Damage
admin December 2, 2009 @vabike 22 comments
Heavy trucks obviously cause more road damage than cars, but how much more? According to a GAO study, Excessive Truck Weight: An Expensive Burden We Can No Longer Afford, road damage from one 18-wheeler is equivalent to 9600 cars (p.23 of study, p.36 of PDF).
The study assumed a fully loaded tractor-trailer at 80,000 pounds, and a typical passenger car at 4,000 pounds. That’s 20 times difference in weight, but the wear and tear caused by the truck is exponentially greater.
Food for thought: a bicycle and rider at 200 pounds is the same 20 times less heavy than a 4000 pound passenger car. Similarly, the wear and tear caused by that bike and rider would be exponentially less than a passenger car’s.
Virginia has already figured out that it’s cheaper to move trucks off our highways and onto trains, than to support those trucks on our roads. Let’s also think about getting motorists out of their cars. Wide shoulders, wide outer lanes and bike lanes, and off-road paths and trails for bicyclists may seem like extra expense, but they’re cheaper than supporting the car trips they can eliminate.