The answer to this one is actually quite simple! All government funded studies must comply with "Parkinson's Law of Economics", which states that the scope and cost of any project will always expand to use up all available resources and funding - plus some.

After 40+ years working with municipal agencies, I have come to understand that having to go back to the board for more money to complete a project, puts your job (and the project) at serious risk. Indeed, do it a 2nd time and you will be out of work. So, for reasons of self preservation, it was almost automatic that the assigned manager of a proposed project would at least quadruple his original reasonable estimate, just to be sure he covers his a55.

As the project gets underway (especially studies), every tom, dick, and harry in town comes up with some half-baked idea to add to it, or a citizen makes some irrational demand; all pointing to all that cash that is available. Office politics at municipal agencies being what they are, few to none are denied.

No one questioned the original inflated estimate in the first place, because that's what previous similar projects actually did cost. But no one remembers that this high cost was only because of the interaction of the first premises mentioned above, plus all the bizarre contract boilerplate added to gov't contracts. So it is a viscous circle, feeding on itself - and you, the taxpayer.

Yes Virginia, Our Government IS broken!