If I were aggressive, would I restart promoting monorail? It wasn’t ‘hi-tech’ enough during the last few decades, but it’s practicality might be more achievable in a recession.
Too many look for ideal transportation and current proposals are costly.
I believe that a ‘true’ monorail is an overlooked option. Most proposals require elevated and engineered roadbed but a simple steel-on-steel track over existing routes is the most effective option available.
The right of way is already amortized.
An iron wheel on an iron rail is proven and efficient. Track and beams are both inexpensive and common.
Suspending weight costs less. Too many transit ideas, such as BART or Maglev, lift a costly roadbed into the air, but suspending weight over existing roadway requires far less investment.
A monorail is simple corridor and easy engineering – cargo and passengers, containers or cars, moved over ordinary routes.
Monorail capitalizes unused rights of way, whether over existing roadbed or new point-to-point conveyance. There’s the savings, and the prosperity.
The air value over our roads is a trillion dollar frontier.
Monorail & monobeam links here at the University of Washington.
Texas Transportation Institute offers a 136 page .pdf study here.