When the USS Gerald R. Ford is finally christened, the massive aircraft
carrier will be the biggest and baddest piece of Pentagon hardware ever
built - and, critics note, the most expensive.

The 1,106-foot ship, under construction in Newport News, Va., has seen
cost overruns push its expected price tag up some 22 percent to nearly
$13 billion, with new technology dictating changes since work began in
2007. Expected to be christened on Nov. 9, the ship will be able to
launch 220 air attacks per day, will hold more than 4,000 sailors and
Marines, has a nuclear reactor to provide energy, and even comes with
stealth features to reduce the ship’s radar profile.

The Navy touts the ship, which will have runways to allow for
simultaneous takeoffs and landings, as a landmark advance that
“continues the aircraft carrier history of innovation and adaptability.”

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No one wastes money like the U.S. Navy.

Somewhere I read, I forgot where, that the average cost of building a
new interstate highway in the United States was about $1 million a mile
in rural areas and $3.5 million a mile in urban areas. Assume an average
cost per mile of $2 million.


$15,000,000,000 for an aircraft carrier.
Divide that by $2 million and you get...

7500 miles of *new* interstate highway.