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Just to clarify, as I alluded to in a subsequent response to ABL, my statement was framed on the presumption (in hindsight, apparently wrong) that you were talking about the provision of additional roads in a situation in which there was unregulated competition and monopoly pricing. At one level, it is indeed fine to allow private investors to risk their money on roads in competition to government-provided "free" roads. That said, problems can arise, particularly in urban settings, because of the systems nature of traffic flows and urban design considerations. Specifically, a new on/off-ramp here or a new through road there, while potential privately optimal, can redistribute traffic and create adverse external effects on other parts of the network, as well as effect the amenity of surrounding areas. There also remain problems with the pricing of private roads and the politics of governments building free roads next to existing private toll roads.
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