It's not how it was done. It's what was done. Remember, history records the names of the kings, not the soldiers. Great wall of china, pyramids all of that were built on blood sweat and tears. But it's the building that is celebrated today.
Don't you use the highway? And isn't it because it saves time? And most importantly, how many years should we have saved money to build it on our own funds? 10,000 years probably? Lol.