Estimating the Consumptive Use Costs of Shale Natural Gas Extraction on Pennsylvania Roadways

Abstract

The development of natural gas resources in the Marcellus Shale formation has progressed rapidly in the last several years, particularly in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. These activities require many heavy truck trips for equipment and materials, which can damage state and local roads that were not designed for high volumes of heavy truck traffic. For state transportation agencies, one measure of costs of shale gas development is the potential degradation of roadways resulting from shale gas development. This technical note provides a first-order estimate of roadway consumptive use costs of additional heavy truck traffic on Pennsylvania statemaintained roadways from Marcellus Shale natural gas development in 2011, estimated at about $13,000-$23,000 per well for all state roadway types, or $5,000-$10,000 per well if state roads with the lowest traffic volumes are excluded. This initial estimate of costs is based on data on the distribution of well activity and roadway type in Pennsylvania, estimates for the number of heavy truck trips to construct and operate a single well, the corresponding equivalent single-axle loadings, and estimates of roadway life and reconstruction costs by roadway maintenance class in Pennsylvania.

Broadening Benefits from Natural Resource Extraction: Housing Values and Taxation of Natural Gas Wells as Property

“…One well can involve hundreds of truck trips for each well, creating noise and reducing air quality (Kargbo, Wilhelm, & Campbell, 2010;Litovitz et al, 2013). This can in turn degrade infrastructure and affect human health (Abramzon et al, 2014;Hill, 2012). The degradation of roads and bridges from increased truck traffic would require public spending for restoration.…”

Policy Expansion in Local Government Environmental Policy Making

“…A number of controversies became grist for anti-fracking advocates seeking stringent state restrictions or a ban. Fracking was linked to groundwater contamination (Osborn et al 2011); air, noise, and light pollution (Goodman et al 2016); damage to public infrastructure, particularly roadways (Abramzon et al 2014); and increased cancer incidence (MacKenzie et al 2012). The claims of anti-fracking advocates were criticized as overblown and inaccurate by interests that saw the industry as an economic lifeline for New York's economically struggling but shale-rich Southern Tier (e.g., Festa 2013).…”

“No Fracking Way” vs. “Drill Baby Drill”: A Restructuring of Who Is Pitted Against Whom in the Narrative Policy Framework

“…Areas of active drilling can experience a 30 percent increase in NOx emissions and a doubling of ambient noise (Goodman et al, 2016). Each new Marcellus Shale well can generate road repair costs of $13,000-$23,000 due to increases in heavy vehicle traffic (Abramzon, Samaras, Curtright, Litovitz, & Burger, 2014).…”