EconomistDo expenditures on road construction projects represent good investments for communities? The taxpaying public will never know because community planners rarely analyze road projects as investments. The benefits that local residents will receive from a new or improved road, such as increased efficiency, fewer accidents, and reduced vehicle operating costs, as well as the potential regional impacts on jobs, population, and income, should be measured. These benefits should then be compared with the total construction costs of the project, such as planning and design, land purchases, construction, and costs for moving utility lines. Only then will any investment in building or improving roads be made with reasonable confidence.
Ecologist
Community planners should consider the full range of ecological effects of any road construction projects, including pollution, vegetation destruction, habitat fragmentation, and soil erosion. The scale of the effects varies with the size of the project. Evaluations based on only a few species or resources may be adequate for small projects, but the construction of several highway systems can together alter entire regions, disrupting migratory pathways and other ecosystem processes. These effects may be augmented by the conversion of land to industrial or residential use that usually accompanies road building. Once all of the environmental considerations have been evaluated, planners should proceed with a proposed road construction project only if it will not damage sensitive ecosystems or if suitable mitigation measures can be implemented.
1. Based on the information given, which one of the following can be most logically inferred?A. The ecologist faults community planners generally for not considering the effect of converting land to industrial or residential use.
B. The
economist would allow road construction to proceed even if it would threaten sensitive ecosystems.
C. Both the
economist and ecologist offer guidance for planners who are considering whether to undertake road construction projects.
D. Both the
economist and the ecologist consider the regional economic impacts of road construction projects.
E. Neither the
economist nor the ecologist provides clear criteria for determining whether a road project should be undertaken.
2. For each of the following statements, select Yes if the statement is supported by the information provided. Otherwise select No.
| Yes | No | Statements |
| | The economist is more intent on endorsing road construction projects than the ecologist is. |
| | The economist and the ecologist are both concerned with the criteria on which community planners base decisions. |
| | The ecologist is concerned with how road projects can affect the quality of life within communities, whereas the economist is not. |
Community planners are evaluating whether to build a new road that is projected to cost $2.0 million to construct and provide $2.5 million in overall benefit to the region but that will threaten a sensitive local ecosystem.
3. In the columns, select Acceptable for each detail that would make the new road acceptable under the standards provided by both the economist and the ecologist, based on the information provided. Otherwise select Not acceptable.
| Acceptable | Not acceptable | |
| | The road’s planned route could be altered to avoid the sensitive ecosystem at no additional cost. |
| | The road would provide a significant economic benefit to neighboring communities. |
| | Mitigating the threat to the sensitive ecosystem would cost an additional $1 million. |
Acceptable, Not acceptable and Not acceptable
Project IR Butler 2019-20 - Get one IR Question EverydayQuestion # 283, Date : 11-Jul-2020
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11 Jul 2020, 08:47
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