In 1991, ground was first broken for the Central Artery/Third Harbor Tunnel Project. The project was meant to reroute the chronically congested Central Artery (I-93) in Boston, Massachusetts, through a 3.5 mile tunnel under the city for a projected cost of $2.8 billion. Over the course of the project’s duration, the project became colloquially known as the “Big Dig” and its cost escalated to over $14 billion, making the Big Dig the most expensive public works project in the nation.
The I-93 tunnel. (Photo by Rene Schwietzke. Distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0 license.)
Originally conceived in the 1970s by the Boston Transportation Planning Review, official planning for the project didn’t begin until the early 80s. In 1987, US Congress passed a bill, later overriding a veto by President Reagan, appropriating funds for the Big Dig.
The project suffered from numerous setbacks. The tunnel itself was dug in an area of pipes, utility lines, subway lines and landfills. Additionally, leaks, findings of substandard materials followed by criminal arrests and even a fatal accident have all shut down parts of the project at various points in time.
The most expensive public works project in the US was supposedly finished at the end of 2007. However, as of January 2008, 237 serious leaks are being reported as going unchecked.
