Why can't they?? (re:construction projects)... (1 Viewer)

[Philip_G]

something like that. Its not really off the main highway either, it's quite a ways from I25.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

Depends on what you call "handle". Seems to be doing fine. Compared to the 4 lanes that used to be elevated above ground, which was effectively 2 lanes because of the spacing of the exits, it is a vast inprovement. Plus, this is city bound or through traffic only. Traffic that is going to or through the city. It would compare to running 8 lanes of traffic through lower Manhattan. Last I checked, lower Manhattan only had 2-3 lanes after the FDR, most of which is littered with stoplights.

Most traffic that is travelling through Mass to other states goes by way of the Pike (with Boston now easily accessible by tunnel at the end, all the way to the Airport) or by 95/93, the beltway well outside the city. The Big Dig is just for going north/south through the city and city access for commuters. No traveller is going to drive the Big Dig if they are not going to/through Boston.

You have to understand what was there in order to understand how much better it is. Logan Airport was only accessible by 2 tunnels that were entered via city level streets, off an elevated highway that had 4-5 times more traffic than it was built for. So not only did you have to battle traffic on the elevated highway, you had to get to an exit and navigate city streets to get to the overcrowded tunnels. It took 1 hour from the edge of the city to the airport at night, with no traffic. Getting to the airport during the day took at least 2 hours. Now it takes 10 minutes, tops. Going through the city north to south (or vice versa) took at least 2 hours at rush hour (a 4-5 mile trip) now it takes about 30 minutes at rush hour, tops.

Please, there is no comparing other cities to the Big Dig, the logistics are unfathomable unless you are familiar with Boston and it's traffic patterns. For those that criticize - how else are you going to remove a 4 lane elevated highway and route more lanes through some of the most crowded real estate in the country; at the same time gaining land for parks and commercial property and not taking 1 sq. foot of the already overcrowded land around the city by imminent domain? Offer a better solution and I'll listen...

Oh, and to answer an accusation above. This was not "foisted" upon the citizens. It was sorely needed and a welcome solution to the horrible problem that was "foisted" on the citizens in the fifties. It's just too bad it took so long and cost so much.

 

[Mort Corey]

Think it was ten or eleven billion for the first leg....but they're adding to it to the tune of near two billion a mile so they might catch up (Your tax dollars at work)

Mort

 

[Jason L.]

Of course, people from Boston think the Big Dig is a great idea!

They stole 10+ BILLION Dollars from our federal tax dollars by lying about the estimates on how much it would cost and how long it would take. They knew that once construction started it couldn't be stopped.

 

[andrew markworthy]

In the UK a big cause of delays is environmental protestors deciding they have the right on behalf of Mother Earth to block new major construction works. Do you guys have this problem?

 

[Jeff Gatie]

Who is "they"? I personally didn't steal anything and I know I didn't get rich off it. Matter of fact, I work for one of the few state agencies that turns a profit (which went directly towards the Big Dig). In addition, my state taxes paid for the other costs of the project, which is a heck of a lot more per capita than anything the rest of the country put in. Besides, we were talking about the engineering aspects of the Big Dig. I think I, as well as anyone, expressed regret about the corruption that went on. Believe me, if anyone is sick and tired of corruption in state politics, it is me. Regardless, the project was still wanted, needed ,and a good idea.

Generalize much?

 

[Kevin Hewell]

Occasionally. Just the other day, a woman here in town parked herself in a lawn chair in the middle of a stand of trees behind her house to stop some construction. It turns out the contractor was cutting far too many trees than he was supposed to and the city put a stop to it. If it hadn't been for this woman every one of her trees behind her house would have been torn down.

There have also been some more high profile cases but I can't remember any specifics at the moment.

 

[Jason L.]

What I mean is that the city of Baah-stun and the state purposely lied about the size and cost of the project. They knew that when the project started, it would never be canceled - no matter how overbudget it was. Since most road construction is subsidized by federal money, that money should have been used for other "non-corrupt" projects across the USA, or never have been spent. The latter would have lessened every American's tax bill. Since it was 10 Billion over budget and there are 250 million taxpayers [quick estimate] I figure you corrupt chowder heads personally owe me $40.

And I want it in cash.

 

[CapnSharpe]

Care to explain where NASA is located and why?
And where is that atom-accelerator thingy no one uses?
Where are Bush and Delay from?

:rolleyes

How wonder how many more seconds it will take for this thread to close...

 

[Corbin Stirn]

OMDG. Dude, gimme a break. If EVERY single construction EVERYWHERE in the USA was audited for cost overruns, we'd all be millionares. I ain't FROM Boston, I have no relatives/friend IN or FROM Boston, and I've never been TO Boston. I'll defend the right of Boston for a construction project that evidently did MUCH to improve the standard of living there though. 'Cause next time it could be MY town, or YOUR town, or somebody else's town that gets money for a project. . If the project was TOTAL crap, had NO,NADA,ZERO redeeming value whatsoever for anyone in the area and/or travelling to the area,it wouldn't have been approved. Amazing it's ALL BS if it's NOT in YOUR town, but if it IS in your town/area, it's a "needed improvement." OK Everyone has projects for their area that make sense, but to an outsider may seem like a waste of time/energy. It's called progress......it may be someplace else now, but it'll be your place in the future. Everyone payes taxes, and EVERYONE will get the benfit from them. It wasn't your area this time, but it could be next time. So drop the condescending attitude towards NE and Boston in particular. Glad to see we have non-progressive type thinkers here.You mad 'cause the Red Sox won the World Series or something? Geez.

 

[Kevin Hewell]

Has a construction project in the US ever had this much of a cost overrun (Big Dig)?

 

[Maurice McCone]

another vote for the Big Dig from me !

I have been negotiating the journey from Logan to Hartford a couple of times every year for 5-6 years now - I went over last week and was amazed at how easy it was to get out of the airport and straight through to I90 West in 10 minutes. I look forward to seeing the renovation and reconstruction of the old freeway areas, exactly when is the Big Dig due to end ?

 

[Jeff Gatie]

I'll send you the forty dollars if you promise to never try to imitate a Boston accent in writing again. Oh, by the way, you listen to too much Jim Rome. "Chowder heads", oooo that stings.If that's the best replacement for "1918", I have no worries.

 

[Dan D.]

Seriously, if there's any state in the union that CAN'T give us crap over accents, it's Texas.

 

[Jason L.]

How truly naive you are.

Right now in Dallas something similar is happening. Dallas has a river that runs through it called the Trinity River. It is basically a glorified stream.

The city of Dallas wants to have several "signature bridges" designed by the Spanish architect/designer Santiago Calatrava constructed to beautify the city and give Dallas a recognizable addition to our skyline.

Of course, we can't pay for it ourselves, so like everyone else Dallas goes looking for help from the federal government. Dallas claims that these bridges are needed because the old ones are falling apart and need to be replaced.

There's only one problem. Texas DOT documents show that the bridges are not falling apart and do not need to be replaced. They are perfectly fine.

Our local alternative, muckraking newspaper the Dallas Observer wrote about this. You can look at it here:
http://www.dallasobserver.com/issues/2004-11-04/news/schutze.html[/url]

This past week it was approved by the House or Representatives in the $284 Billion transportation bill.

Since this is small change compared to the Big Dig - only $90 million - you now only owe me $39.15

P.S. I heard that the Big Dig was on "The Fleecing of America" on NBC Nightly News this past week.

 

[Jason L.]

Another strike against those who think the Big Dig is a good idea:

Today from CNN.com: http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/03/15/big.dig.ap/index.html[/url]