I’d be curious to know if the change is cultural(eg. risk sensitivity in the face of the casualties you mention); or whether it’s a matter of the overall growth of multiple layers of government(in this case it sounds like blowing up the rock is actually the cheaper option in absolute terms; but the state agency is out of pocket for that; while federal funds that effectively cost them nothing cover the cost of rebuilding around the rock); or whether it’s a shift in priorities in the part of the feds(at least in the US the heroic blasting eras were the railroad boom, when companies were generously rewarded by the feds for track laid; and the interstate highway system, which was pushed through as a Fed program in no small part by appealing to it’s military infrastructure value).
Or some other change I’ve not considered?
