The effects on small towns of being bypassed by a highway: a case study of Berrima and Mittagong

A common argument is that road investments bring significant regional development benefits which go unmeasured in conventional benefit-cost analyses. The Bureau of Transport and Communications Economics has examined the regional development effects of two bypasses along the Hume Highway in New South Wales. The study finds that the economic effects on the bypassed towns are closely linked to environmental effects. In Berrima, tourism has taken off now that its historic charms are unblemished by heavy traffic. In Mittagong, the bypass was having a slightly negative impact on the economy about a year after its opening, due to the loss of traffic-serving business. Expectations are for the effect to turn mildly positive as people come to recognise Mittagong has become a nicer place to shop and live in. People make themselves better off by adjusting their choices of where to live and spend money when towns become more appealing. The benefit-cost analysis of the bypasses, conducted by the Roads and Traffic Authority of New South Wales, omitted these hard-to-quantify- benefits. Further benefits can arise from the regional development effects of faster and cheaper transport along the Hume Highway. The analysis of the Roads and Traffic Authority did not estimate these benefits, but it may have captured some of them indirectly in the estimated savings in road user costs. The general message is that double counting can easily result when savings in road user costs are combined with regional development or other 'secondary' benefits.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0642204403
• Corporate Authors:

  Australia. Bureau of Transport and Communications Economics (BTCE)

  ,    
• Publication Date: 1994

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: 22p
• Serial:
  • Issue Number: 11

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Benefit cost analysis; Bypasses; Case studies; Economics; Environment; Highway planning; Towns; Traffic
• Geographic Terms: Berrima; Mittagong
• ATRI Terms: Bypass; Case study; Cost benefit analysis; Economics; Environment; Road development; Town; Traffic
• Subject Areas: Economics; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01393710
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: ARRB
• ISBN: 0642204403
• Files: ATRI
• Created Date: Aug 23 2012 9:43AM