But… Who Will Build the Roads?
(From the Intellectual Ammunition section in Volume 19, No. 12 of the Liberator Online. Subscribe here!)
Yeah, we’ve all heard that one ad nauseam. Now a British grandfather has pretty much
settled it.
From “Rolling in money: Man makes toll road to get around roadworks“, Yahoo! Finance UK and Ireland:
“A grandfather sick of roadworks [road construction] near his home defied his council and built his own toll road [in just ten days] allowing people to circumvent the disrupted section.
“Opened on Friday, it’s the first private toll road built since cars became a familiar sight on British roads 100 years ago. Motorists pay £2 to travel each way and bypass the 14 miles diversion.
“Mike Watts, 62, hired a crew of workmen and ploughed £150,000 of his own cash into building a 365m long bypass road in a field next to the closed A431. He reckons it will cost another £150,000 in upkeep costs and to pay for two 24 hour a day toll booth operators.
“Speaking from the road in Kelston, Somerset, Mike said: ‘Too many people are displaced by the road closure, their daily lives have been so disrupted by this.’”
Who will build the roads? Enterprising entrepreneurs like these — if the government will simply get out of the way.

What do you think?
Rate the degree to which government authorities should intervene on this issue:
Unlikely
Most likely

James
Author
Advocates for Self-Government is nonpartisan and nonprofit. We exist to help you determine your political views and to promote a free, prosperous, and self-governing society.
Subscribe & Start Learning
What’s your political type? Find out right now by taking The World’s Smallest Political Quiz.