Abstract
Documented are the during- and after-construction effects of widening a highway. Between 1991 and 1993, a 3.75 km (2.33 mi) section of State Highway (TX-21) in Caldwell, Texas, a town of 3,000, was widened for a continuous two-way left-turn lane with curbs and gutters. Data collected during and after construction include information about the abutting businesses' estimation of the impact of construction on their businesses profits and property values and on the traffic volumes, travel times, and accident rates of the highway. The number of most businesses' usable parking spaces, customers per day, and full-time and part-time employees decreased slightly during construction. Most business managers thought that sales decreased. Reported sales figures showed a 5 percent decrease, which was less severe than the business managers had estimated. Appraised abutting property values fell between 1990 and 1992, while land values increased. Construction expenditures in Texas totaled $6.095 million. The Texas input-output model estimates the impact of these expenditures to be $22.5 million in additional output and 364 jobs for the statewide economy, including $7.5 million in additional output and 121 jobs for the Caldwell economy. The benefit-cost ratio was 1.71—that is, the motorists are receiving $1.71 in benefits for every dollar spent on the project.
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