It's not really a fair comparison. For long stretches of the route, it's just an orange line painted on an existing path. On some stretches it doesn't even have a line on there.
A lot of the expensiveness of freeways also has to do with completely grade-separating it from other traffic. This route has several grade crossings at busy intersections.
It was more to highlight the different attitudes in most countries.
Pay anything toward public/alternative transport and it's taxpayers money being lavished on subsidies. But spend a $Bn on a highway that just creates bigger traffic jams and it's vital infrastructure improvements.
Here they just voted themselves a big property tax hike to pay for a new $Bn freeway bridge after it became clear that the tolls wouldn't even cover the interest. But the express bus route that was going to use the bridge has been cut to save money.
It's also the argeument behind "cyclists don't pay toward the roads" when the majority of massively expensive road building is for stuff that cyclists can't use (freeways/tunnels) and they do pay for these in tax.
A lot of the expensiveness of freeways also has to do with completely grade-separating it from other traffic. This route has several grade crossings at busy intersections.