Terry Edwards, vice president of HOG, Inc., a highway construction company in central Pennsylvania, has just returned from a meeting of the senior management team of the company. At the meeting, Harry O. Growbaker, president of HOG, Inc, had reported on his recent trip to Washington, D.C., and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The focus of the presentation and discussion was a new federal legislative package that would provide funding for new regional highway projects in the various states. Harry O. Growbaker felt that HOG, Inc., could participate but that they needed to be proactive to demonstrate the economic impact of such stimulus spending in central Pennsylvania. Harry asked Terry to give this matter some thought and provide some discussion points for the next meeting of the senior management team.
Terry decided to meet with two of his staff members, Sandy Knight and Tom Collins, to help with his assignment. During the course of their discussion, Tom pointed out the lack of good connections between two major interstate highways that traversed central Pennsylvania, namely Interstates 80 and 78. Both were major arteries for truck traffic with mostly an east-west flow in Pennsylvania. The economic growth in Central Pennsylvania, Tom said, was creating a need for an effective north-south link between I-80 and I-78. Tom felt that a proposed highway link would be attractive to the state and federal government.
Sandy, who had worked for Penn State University for a number of years, pointed out the possible synergism with the University Park campus of Penn State and perhaps some of their satellite locations such as Harrisburg. She noted the development of the research park at Penn State's University Park Campus and its active role in encouraging new companies based upon applied research at the university. She felt that there was a lot of opportunity to encourage and enhance this development with improved transportation. She also pointed out that the state was giving away land that had been part of a prison that could be used for economic development.
Terry Edwards became excited as he listened to this discussion. He felt that he could develop a list of discussion points for the next senior management meeting that could then be developed into a white paper for the State and Federal Departments of Transportation.
Question - You have recently been hired by HOG, Inc., and Mr. Edwards has asked you to develop a set of discussion points that would point out the economic and perhaps social benefits from a new highway link in central Pennsylvania.
Answer - A highway network provides significant economic and social benefits to businesses and individuals. A few are:
• move more people; free up other congested roadways
• employment supported by highway construction activities
• encompass direct user benefits accruing to commuters and travelers, including reduced travel time and vehicle operating cost reductions
• create accessibility by connecting several different locations
• residential expansion
• potential businesses and growth congregating to the new highway; again, more jobs.
Course Hero Question - If you had to prioritize your answers above, what would the sequence be?