Construction Of North American Superhighway May Begin Next Year
North America Transportation
Posted by: Michael Dudley
20 June 2006 - 7:00am
"The 'nation's most modern roadway', proposed between Laredo in Texas and Duluth, Minnesota, along Interstate 35, would allow the US to bypass the west coast ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to import goods from China and the Far East into the heart of middle America via Mexico, saving both cost and time.
However, critics argue that the ten-lane road would lay a swathe of concrete on top of an already over-developed transport infrastructure and further open the border with Mexico to illegal immigrants or terrorists.
According to a weekly Conservative magazine published in the US, the US administration is 'quietly yet systematically' planning the massive highway, citing as a benefit that it would negate the power of two unions, the Longshoremen and Teamsters.
Another source claimed the highway was a 'bi-partisan effort' with support from both Republicans and Democrats that would reduce freight transport times across the nation by days.
Eric Olson, the transportation spokesmen for the California-based Sierra Club, a national environmental awareness organisation, said the road would cause significant damage. 'Something on that scale would have a massive environmental impact,' he said. 'Building a large-scale new highway does not seem like the best solution. There is a great need for fixing our existing roads and bridges. That needs to be a priority before we start building new massive road projects.'"
Despite serious environmental, immigration, and security concerns, plans for a limited-access superhighway four football fields wide, from Mexico to Canada, which would incorporate pipelines but bypass U.S. ports altogether, are nearing completion.
"The 'nation's most modern roadway', proposed between Laredo in Texas and Duluth, Minnesota, along Interstate 35, would allow the US to bypass the west coast ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to import goods from China and the Far East into the heart of middle America via Mexico, saving both cost and time.
However, critics argue that the ten-lane road would lay a swathe of concrete on top of an already over-developed transport infrastructure and further open the border with Mexico to illegal immigrants or terrorists.
According to a weekly Conservative magazine published in the US, the US administration is 'quietly yet systematically' planning the massive highway, citing as a benefit that it would negate the power of two unions, the Longshoremen and Teamsters.
Another source claimed the highway was a 'bi-partisan effort' with support from both Republicans and Democrats that would reduce freight transport times across the nation by days.
Eric Olson, the transportation spokesmen for the California-based Sierra Club, a national environmental awareness organisation, said the road would cause significant damage. 'Something on that scale would have a massive environmental impact,' he said. 'Building a large-scale new highway does not seem like the best solution. There is a great need for fixing our existing roads and bridges. That needs to be a priority before we start building new massive road projects.'"
Source: The Scotsman, Jun 16, 2006
Full Story: US divided by superhighway plan
