172
Excavation (52,800 length × 128 width × 2.33 deep × 1.3 fluff factor )/27 is 7,581,924 yd
3
at $56/
yd
3
cost for digging, stock piling, and backfilling and the total cost would be
$424,587,744.
Cost of materials: $50/yd
3
; 4″ base course is 834,370 yd
3
at $50/yd
3
; wire mesh or
framing is (528,000 × 128) at $1/ft
2
; 12″ subbase aggregate is 2,503,111 yd
3
at
$25/yd
3
; and thus the total cost of material is $380,472,775.
Cost of labor: 200 Asphalt cement workers for 2704 working days at $100/h; 200
labor foremen for 2704 working days at $100/h; 200 laborers for 2704 working
days at $70/h; 200 equipment operators for 2704 working days at $100/h; 100
truck drivers for 2704 working days at $100/h; 200 small roller engineers for
2704 working days at $100/h; and thus the total cost is $2,249,728,000.
Equipment cost: 200 Roller renting at $1000/week; 200 milling renting at $10,000/
week; 100 truck renting at $500/week; and thus the total cost is $502,171,429.
Other cost: Detailing and shop drawing at $10/ft
2
; engineering service at $5/ft
2
;
survey team at $4400/day for each working day; banking service of 301,037 yd
3
at $1000/yd
3
; maiden concrete divider is 106,468 yd
3
at $818/yd
3
; and thus the
total cost is $1,326,694,600. The net construction cost by adding 10% general
condition, 10% overhead and profit, and 3% contingency into the excavation,
material, labor, equipment, and other cost would be $6,805,115,863.
Cost Saving
In this chapter I have calculated cost saving by using standard 100 miles highway of
128 ft wide (12 ft wide of 4 lanes in each direction, two-sided 10 ft service space,
and 6 ft median in the center of the road) as an experimental tool to compare construction cost in between conventional and maglev infrastructure system. Total cost
estimate for traditional infrastructure is $6,805,115,863 and the maglev infrastructure
system cost is only $3,587,063,487 for the same 100 miles highways and the net
cost saving is $3,218,052,377 (Table 9.1). Consequently it will reduce neatly 50%
of cost once maglev infrastructure system is used for the construction of invisible
infrastructure which is also benign to the environment.
Conclusions
Traditional transportation infrastructure construction and maintenance throughout
the world are not only expensive, but also consuming 5.6 × 10
20
J/year (560 EJ/year)
fossil fuel each year which is indeed dangerous of a cliché when discussing about
climate [13, 26]. In order to mitigate this issue, better infrastructure transportation
planning needs to be achieved where environmental sustainability and climate adaptation have been confirmed to create more resilient and vibrant communities.
9 Invisible Roads and Transportation Engineering
Excavation (52,800 length × 128 width × 2.33 deep × 1.3 fluff factor )/27 is 7,581,924 yd
3
at $56/
yd
3
cost for digging, stock piling, and backfilling and the total cost would be
$424,587,744.
Cost of materials: $50/yd
3
; 4″ base course is 834,370 yd
3
at $50/yd
3
; wire mesh or
framing is (528,000 × 128) at $1/ft
2
; 12″ subbase aggregate is 2,503,111 yd
3
at
$25/yd
3
; and thus the total cost of material is $380,472,775.
Cost of labor: 200 Asphalt cement workers for 2704 working days at $100/h; 200
labor foremen for 2704 working days at $100/h; 200 laborers for 2704 working
days at $70/h; 200 equipment operators for 2704 working days at $100/h; 100
truck drivers for 2704 working days at $100/h; 200 small roller engineers for
2704 working days at $100/h; and thus the total cost is $2,249,728,000.
Equipment cost: 200 Roller renting at $1000/week; 200 milling renting at $10,000/
week; 100 truck renting at $500/week; and thus the total cost is $502,171,429.
Other cost: Detailing and shop drawing at $10/ft
2
; engineering service at $5/ft
2
;
survey team at $4400/day for each working day; banking service of 301,037 yd
3
at $1000/yd
3
; maiden concrete divider is 106,468 yd
3
at $818/yd
3
; and thus the
total cost is $1,326,694,600. The net construction cost by adding 10% general
condition, 10% overhead and profit, and 3% contingency into the excavation,
material, labor, equipment, and other cost would be $6,805,115,863.
Cost Saving
In this chapter I have calculated cost saving by using standard 100 miles highway of
128 ft wide (12 ft wide of 4 lanes in each direction, two-sided 10 ft service space,
and 6 ft median in the center of the road) as an experimental tool to compare construction cost in between conventional and maglev infrastructure system. Total cost
estimate for traditional infrastructure is $6,805,115,863 and the maglev infrastructure
system cost is only $3,587,063,487 for the same 100 miles highways and the net
cost saving is $3,218,052,377 (Table 9.1). Consequently it will reduce neatly 50%
of cost once maglev infrastructure system is used for the construction of invisible
infrastructure which is also benign to the environment.
Conclusions
Traditional transportation infrastructure construction and maintenance throughout
the world are not only expensive, but also consuming 5.6 × 10
20
J/year (560 EJ/year)
fossil fuel each year which is indeed dangerous of a cliché when discussing about
climate [13, 26]. In order to mitigate this issue, better infrastructure transportation
planning needs to be achieved where environmental sustainability and climate adaptation have been confirmed to create more resilient and vibrant communities.
9 Invisible Roads and Transportation Engineering