# What is the cost of building a decent quality highway?



## preme3000

I have always wondered, what is the cost of building a decent quality highway? 
For example, 500km 6 lane highway?

Some countries build highways like there is no tomorrow (china, chile, poland even) but others can't even connect 2/3 cities together even though the technology has been around for over 60 years. 

I am especially interested in middle and developing countries since in theory it should be cheaper. I have given up on the UK because there is simply too many stakeholders to consider and by the time everything is considered, its like 5 years gone! (yes really)

I know some areas are tropical(like brazil), flat(holland), mountainous(japan) other factors but I thought I would come to the experts - you skyscrapers to get an idea.


----------



## ChrisZwolle

There are no fixed amounts for that, it depends on various factors such as;

=> Soil
=> pavement type
=> number of lanes
=> number of overpasses
=> number of tunnels
=> number of interchanges
=> amount of signage
=> degree of environmental impact measures
=> wage costs
=> material costs
=> time to completion
=> topography
=> drainage
=> highway beautification
=> etc.

So it can range from like a million euros per kilometer in Mecklenburg to 60 - 100 million per kilometer in certain areas of the Netherlands or in mountainous terrain.


----------



## preme3000

Chris, - u raise great points there, so at the risk of sounding silly, here goes...

i am a fan of highways and would love to be involved in a construction project anywhere that would elevate the standard of living (i can dream!), so i am building up my knowledge.

I am talking about really basic, maybe old USA style (2+1 emergency lane on each side, simple flowery natural median), very cheap labour, materials within the country, just need to import machinery. i am very interested in seeing what the developing countries can do on a budget, especially central african countries who mostly have little to no highways at all. 

For this example, lets use Angola - tropical, population spread out, long distances without population. Low # of interchanges, overpasses - quantity over quality so to say, built in the quickest amount of time, 1000km over 2 years. make sure people can get from A to B first as a necessity, improvements can be done later.

For example I know the Mexican highways is some like 11 000km but how much did it cost in total? i googled this so may times, but so useful info!


----------



## Gid

the cost really varies:

there's a short expressway under construction in Singapore now, 
the 5-km road costs USD $3.5 billion..................................................


----------



## adrimm

That's capital costs, what of other costs? Do you need land bridges to connect fragmented ecosystems, how will the additional costs of carbon emissions on air quality be calculated? How would it compare to another mode?


----------



## transport21

as Chris mention it really depends on many things. You might need to built something such as huge viaduct over high terrain.

In a developing country like Ireland, the costs are on average 10 million a kilometer. That said material costs have decreased alot in the last few months due to the recession. About 95% of our motorways are currently being built 2+1 emergency lane.


----------



## hoosier

Well, the new cost of building a 140 mile, 2X2 interstate highway between Evansville and Indianapolis in the state of Indiana is $3.2 billion USD.


----------



## ChrisZwolle

^^ $ 14 million or € 11 million per kilometer, seems quite standard.


----------



## ClubWorld

Gid said:


> the cost really varies:
> 
> there's a short expressway under construction in Singapore now,
> the 5-km road costs USD $3.5 billion..................................................


mgmg:


----------



## Majestic

In Poland it's € 6-10 mln on average, although it gets to as much as € 20-25 mln in heavily-urbanized areas.


----------



## UD2

the answer is very expensive. But there are too many variables to have a standard cost. It also depend on which country you're building it in.


----------



## Papacu

Just trying to figure how much cost those "all the way elevated" freeways in Japan, crossing expensive lands in Tokyo and Osaka...

:nuts::nuts:


----------



## ChrisZwolle

^^ A lot, a lot... But the tolls for the Japanese roads are outrageous too...


----------



## girlicious_likeme

The proposed Mackenzie Valley Highway Extension is $1,000,000,000.
The proposed Nunavut - Manitoba Highway is also $1,000,000,000.

They are all-weather roads, but unpaved. They are expensive because they are about the length of Windsor - Quebec City corridor. Both of these highways' locations have harsh winters with windchills plunging to -60C.


----------



## siamu maharaj

ChrisZwolle said:


> ^^ A lot, a lot... But the tolls for the Japanese roads are outrageous too...


I've never understood how anyone can afford that! People must be rich there!


----------



## Mirec SVK

*Is it really THAT expensive?*

The approximate cost for a 75 km highway (D1) section in Slovakia - at the moment still under construction - is as high as € 9130 million in total - € 121,733 miilion per km (it will be paid in a period of 30 years and includes all the maintenance). There have to be 9 tunnels (approx. 20 km) and numerous bridges. Even with the maintenace - seems a bit expensive to me.


----------



## ChrisZwolle

^^ These PPP projects have a running time of 30 years, including maintenance, interest, operational costs, etc. They are therefor not very good to compare with regular projects.


----------



## preme3000

by far the comprehensive report I have managed to find since asking this question is on this link here: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/biz/construction/CostIndex/pdf/HighwayConstructionCosts2005.pdf

it covers costs per mile in various geographical locations across the USA. Costs obviously vary from country to country but this givesyou a general idea. I hope the pictures came out clear enough, the full pdf report is on the web site listed above.


----------



## oliver999

build a highway in mountain eara costs double .you have to build bridges,tunnels,etc.
in china (no mountain eara),about 30million RMB/km=4.4million USD/km


----------



## ChrisZwolle

Example in Poland:

2x2 S3 expressway through flat, sparsely populated and mostly wooded area; approximately € 5.8 million per kilometer.

Polish 2x2 expressways are de-facto motorways, but the lower design standards mean it can be constructed somewhat cheaper, although this may be offset by a larger amount of interchanges.


----------

