U.S. Pays $176 Million to Build Road in Afghanistan ($3 million a mile)

[The Straight Story]

U.S. Pays $176 Million to Build Road in Afghanistan

The United States is on track to spend nearly $3 million a mile on a new highway in southern Afghanistan, making it a monument to corruption and ineptitude.

The Gardez-Khost Road was conceived to link the Afghan government to remote areas of the country south of Kabul near the border with Pakistan. So far, the still unfinished 64-mile road has cost $121 million to build. The final expenditure will probably be closer to $176 million.

At least $1 million was paid to a shady figure known as Arafat, who promised protection to the subcontractors working on the project. Arafat reportedly has connections to the insurgents battling American soldiers and may have staged attacks himself in order to raise the praise of his security contract.

Since the road project started, there have been 363 insurgent attacks, including 108 roadside bombs, and 19 local workers have been killed.

http://www.allgov.com/Where_is_the_Money_Going/ViewNews/US_Pays_176_Million_Dollars_to_Build_Road_in_Afghanistan_110503

[Snoutport]

1. WHO IS BUILDING IT? Koch brothers? they killed rail in florida and wisconsin...

[wtmusic]

2. That's exactly what it costs to build a two-lane highway in the U.S.

$1.6M per lane mile is the average.

So WTF? :shrug:

[DCKit]

4. Fortunately, U.S. contractors don't have the luxury of paying $2/day for labor. nt

[wtmusic]

6. They also don't have to pay for security to protect against roadside bombs. nt

[LiberalAndProud]

3. Who are we paying off in the states?

http://www.artba.org/about/faqs-transportation--general-public/faqs/#20
How much does it cost to build a mile of road?
There is no single answer to this question. Construction costs per mile of road depend on location, terrain, type of construction, number of lanes, lane width, durability, number of bridges, etc. It costs more to build a new road than to rehabilitate a road or add lanes. Roads cost more to build in urban areas than in rural areas. Roads in mountainous terrain are more expensive to build than roads on flat land.

Nonetheless, some states have developed cost models to guide planning for their highway construction programs. These models give a ballpark figure for various kinds of highway improvements. The following are some examples:

•Construct a new 2-lane undivided road - about $2-$3 million per mile in rural areas, about $4-5 million in urban areas.
•Construct a new 4-lane highway -- $4-$6 million per mile in rural and suburban areas, $8-$10 million per mile in urban areas.
•Construct a new 6-lane Interstate highway - about $7 million per mile in rural areas, $12 million or more per mile in urban areas.
•Mill and resurface a 4-lane road - about $1.25 million per mile.
•Expand an Interstate Highway from 4 lanes to 6 lanes - about $4 million per mile.

[Poll_Blind]

5. We need to haul the Senator from Afghanistan up on ethics charges!

PB

[Angry Dragon]

7. That would be mccain