It's interesting, in San Francisco, the streetcars got too heavy for the old tracks so they replaced them with about 4 feet deep of concrete. That is actual infrastructure and not "fake". (along with all the stops and handicap ramps and etc. obviously, a paved street is going to exist either way.)

Bribes and the mafia may have been a factor[0], but that's how American cities do things.

[0] eg. https://www2.startribune.com/streetcars-buses-minneapolis-st...