Big Dig: Rerouting Boston's Central Artery - Essay Sample

Introduction

The big dig was a megaproject in the US featuring Boston. The project was aimed at rerouting the central artery of the interstate (Floyubjerg, 2017). Rerouting of the highway would cost the people living there a lot in terms of transport and communication. The project was disputed among the neighborhoods, which forced the city planners to build an underground road. The project was named the big dig. This paper examines the project through the article, the photos, and the video provided. An explanation is also given as to why or why not the project was successfully integrated.

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The big dig project was handed over to a local engineer by the name Fred Salvucci. It was explicitly handed over to him because he was affected by the project too. His grandmother was among those who were displaced by the earlier highway, and therefore, he was trusted that he would do his best to ensure the project is a success. The project was allocating billions of money to allow it to be constructed without cutting down the transportation of the previous highway, and no one would be displaced. The projected benefits of the road would much more than the cost of building it.

The project planned that it had to be completed by 1998; it also needed 21st-century planning. The cost of the project was 20 billion before it was completed. The tunnel was to be built across the heart of the city more than 2 kilometers into the O'Neil tunnel. It would also include the Ted Williams tunnel, which would extend to the airport. A bridge had to be constructed because of Charles River. All these tunnels, bridges, and highways needed qualified engineers, and Fred was the favorite. It also required financial resources, and $ 2.8 billion was more than enough. The planning of the project kicked off in the year 1982.

The plan of the project was successful, but many problems plagued it. The project was set to finish in 1998, but it was started in 1991 and was completed in 2006. However, the conclusion was extended until 2007. The project took nine years more than what was in the plan. The allocated funds were $ 2.8 billion, but the bill went up to $ 8.08 billion, an extra of over $ 6 billion, which is about 190% overrun cost (Davies, 2017). Although there was inflation in the year 2006, the increase in the price was too high. Apart from time-wasting and the cost shooting high, the project was also hindered by design flaws, whereby the design that was initially in the plan did not work. Another had to be used. There were instances of crime that took place during the project, motorists died, and the whole thing was a mess. The overall performance of the construction was considered substandard, which led to charges. Despite the challenges, the project was concluded in the year2007.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the big dig project was one of the most expensive projects in the US. As discussed, it was faced with several challenges that left Boston with deaths, crime, and poor quality road infrastructure. The elaborate plan was intended to renew much of the city transport network. The city was also faced with a debt that they had to pay until 2038. However, the involved company agreed to pay some amount of money to compensate for the damages that occurred. Some small companies also collected some amount to reinforce the loss compensation.

References

Davies, A., Dodgson, M., Gann, D., & MacAulay, S. (2017). Five rules for managing large, complex projects. MIT Sloan Management Review, 59(1), 73. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/openview/0989b61fd2640d228f7895ddadd2c94b/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=26142

Flyvbjerg, B. (2017). Introduction: The iron law of megaproject management. Bent Flyvbjerg, 1-18. Retrieved from https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2742088