THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A FREEWAY

Reason's Steven Greenhut gets an Instalanche for complaining, "After state lawmakers boosted the gas tax with a promise to improve California streets, some cities are upsetting drivers by spending millions on so-called 'road diet' projects that reduce the number of lanes for motor vehicles."

Yes, complaining about tax increases (or the corporate equivalent, always washed down with some spin about assuring better service) is a valid thing.

Read the article, though, and search in vain for any mention of the root cause of ruined roads.  "Roads are indeed a key to a society's greatness. But I'd add that any civilization that raises gas taxes and then reduces road lanes to purposefully increase traffic congestion is insane and probably living on borrowed time."  That's probably correct, and the purposeful narrowing of roads when it gives the impression of "officials, who want us to sit in traffic longer as a means to avoid accidents or frustrate us into taking the bus or rail," isn't going to win many friends or influence many people.

Spend all the increased tax revenue (if, in fact, there is any, or if it's just more reason for people to flee a tax hell) on road construction, though, and the net result will be additional years of construction delays, with the attendant congestion, and when it's all over, there will be no net reduction in congestion.  Not to mention, the tax revenue will be inadequate.  But until the people who Do Infrastructure recognize that the roads are scarce resources that can be allocated by price, they're going to be frustrated.

The good news: in the People's Republic of Wisconsin, the political unpopularity of raising the gasoline tax and increasing vehicle registration fees, as is transpiring in Illinois, is getting some radio pundits saying good things about tolling.  Yes, a lot of it is in the form of "stick it to the flatlanders" en route to Door County or the North Woods or to attempt to occupy Miller Park, but outcomes are more important than motives.