Books about Motorway from Amazon.com

The most visited park in the National Parks system, the 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway winds along the ridges of the Appalachian mountains in Virginia and North Carolina According to popular myth, the Parkway was a New Deal "Godsend for the needy," built without conflict or opposition by landscape architects and planners who traced their uniform vision along a scenic, isolated southern landscape. The historical archives relating to this massive public project, however, tell a different story, which Anne Mitchell Whisnant relates in this history of the seventy-year development of the beloved roadway.

Highlighting the roles of key players and stakeholders, Whisnant explores the design and routing of the road; relations among landowners, business interests, and government agencies; environmental impacts; and historical and cultural representation and interpretation. She reveals what the Parkway's seemingly unruffled scenery tends to obscure: the road owes its appearance as much to the negotiated resolution of conflicts as it does to the natural features of the mountains or the work of landscape designers. Whisnant concludes that our debates over how best to preserve and manage the Parkway for the public good within a changing regional and national context will continue for some time to come..
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The North-West of England, home of the Industrial Revolution, also saw the beginning of a new era in road communications, when Britain's first motorway, the Preston By-pass section of the M6, was completed in 1958. By the end of the 20th century the Region had a greater concentration of motorways than any other part of the country. It was realised early on that an improved road network was fundamental to the area's economic regeneration. The North-West's diverse topography and geology presented unique challenges of considerable magnitude. The engineers involved had to contend with the rugged terrain of the Pennines and the Lake District, coastal plains, and the built-up areas of major conurbations. Technical feats included crossing major rivers, the Manchester Ship Canal and other waterways, a complex railway system, in addition to the necessary provision of links to the existing road network. This compelling and eminently readable narrative traces the Region's motorway development, outlining the benefits that have resulted in terms of traffic, safety, economy and environment. A large number of colour photographs and diagrams lavishly illustrate the author's fascinating story of what was a remarkable achievement, often carried out under difficult circumstances, of which the personnel concerned can be justifiably proud. Harry Yeadon's book combines landscape, regional and transport history, and highlights the numerous advantages of the motorway revolution..
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In A History of British Motorways, Dr Charlesworth presents a fascinating account of the way political and social attitudes concerning motorways have evolved. He describes the early road policies before and between the two World Wars and goes on to cover the building accelerated in the 1960s; however, during the 1970s objections began to be raised on environmental and social grounds. these, coupled with the oil crisis of 1973/4 and the general downturn in the economy, reduced the progress that was being made. As well as describing the inividual motorways in England, Soctland and Wales, with a separate chapter on urban motorways, the author considers the design and planning, usage and socio-economic aspects of motorways..
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This volume raises many challenging and controversial issues surrounding motorway procurement and finance in Europe. A somewhat surprising outcome is that a general appraisal bias can be identified in the following sense: Experts from countries which have introduced concession schemes for managing and financing of their motorways are very critical of these schemes, stressing their shortcomings and caveats. Some even conclude that public management under a regime of welfare maximisation would be desirable as a sustainable option. Experts from countries which have been sticking to public procurement and tax finance of motorways strongly attack the inefficiency of public planning regimes and the general tendency to allocate the revenues from special transport related taxes to the public budget, eventually spending them on other purposes rather than transport. A typical feature of the latter regime seems to be the chronic lack of funds for infrastructure investment.

Although a single ideal country concept for motorway procurement and finance obviously cannot be identified, every paper gives some insights into possible future improvements. Therefore, beyond the rich documentation of national solutions it is the perspective on workable future concepts which makes the book a valuable guide through the jungle of manifold options for public/private partnerships.

This book is a selection of papers presented to the international conference "Highways: Costs and Regulation in Europe", held in Bergamo on the 26th - 27th of November 2004. The Conference was organised by the University of Bergamo, and sponsored by the European Investment Bank..
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