Question

Case :

"Dear Mr. President—Please Cancel our Project!": The Honolulu Elevated Rail Project

This case is a great current example of a very expensive project that was kicked off because of an assumed need—to relieve congestion in downtown Honolulu through an elevated urban rail system. Critics argue that in addition to having a ballooning cost, the actual planning was poorly conceived, leaving Honolulu with an intrusive and ugly rail system through the downtown area, ruining panoramic views, and impeding traffic. Additionally, advocates underestimated the power needs for the rail system, requiring the transport authority to renegotiate electricity fees for the system. Finally, the original costs that were assumed for the project were calculated during an economic downturn and with the economy booming again, the costs of the project have gone up dramatically. All of these elements points to a state Governor who is anxious to be rid of the project and hoping that President Trump will deny additional federal funding, in which case the project will likely be cancelled.

Required:
a. Why are public works projects like the Honolulu Rail project nearly impossible to stop once they have been approved, even if later cost estimates skyrocket?
b. Project Management researchers have charged that many large infrastructure projects, like this one, suffer from "delusion" and "deception" on the parts of their advocates. Explain how "delusion" might be a cause of ballooning budgets in this project. How does "deception" affect the final project budget overruns?

Answer 1

a.The project has been approved and it has been proved necessary.

b. They often choose the cheapest budget and do not forecast any problems in to make the project more viable.

Step-by-step explanation:

a.There's an extensive process to approve a project like this, since it has so many filters before being approved, canceling it would be saying these filters failed. These filters exist to prove that these projects are necessary and if they're necessary they need to be done, no matter the cost.

b. THe people in charge of setting these projects going often choose the cheapest options to make the projects viable, when doing so the cost will eventually rise and, when the government has already approved it they will continue to spend money on the project.