Paying the toll for our roadways

Re “Solo in a Hybrid? Merge Left,” July 30

Is studying a waste of time? Not according to the federal transportation bill that was just passed, which gives $2.4 million to study the feasibility of building a tunnel to extend the Long Beach Freeway and a whopping $15.8 million to study a possible tunnel between Orange and Riverside counties.

So, students, the next time your parents complain about your studying and the fact that you don’t have a job, just quote them the $2.4-million and $15.8-million figures and tell them you’re practicing for the big bucks!

DAN GERSTEN

Agoura Hills

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Does anyone else wonder how, even given the cost of acquiring property, it can cost $500 million -- that’s $50 million a mile -- to construct a 10-mile carpool lane on the San Diego Freeway (July 29) between West Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley?

WILLIAM D. WOLFF

Los Angeles