Boston's Big Dig | 60 Minutes Archive
In a Nutshell
Boston's Big Dig, a $10 billion (originally $2.5 billion) 7.5-mile highway project replacing the elevated Central Artery with an underground road and airport tunnel, has ballooned due to political pork and "keep them happy" spending—over $3 billion (one-third of costs) on items like a $130 million picnic island, $66 million police overtime, $15 million Boston Garden storage, and a $1.3 billion ramp redesign. Critics like Inspector General Robert Sarrelli and Boston Magazine's John Stranich call it a bipartisan boondoggle driven by federal funds (85% taxpayer-paid), with manager Bechtel earning $1 billion amid delays, overruns, and no early penalties. Despite amenities and urban challenges, the project faces 6+ years of extra time and risks to federal funding.
These notes were generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies.
Rarely is a public works project built anymore without a huge price tag. The Big Dig is costing more than a billion dollars a mile. One-third of the cost has little or nothing to do with building the road. It's the most expensive road ever built: a 7.5-mile, $10 billion stretch of highway in downtown Boston. 85% of the price tag is paid for with federal money, taxpayer dollars.
Boston had perpetual traffic jams on the main road, a green elevated eyesore called the Central Artery. The Big Dig plan: tear it down, replace it with a wider road underground, and add a new tunnel from downtown to the airport. Critics say it's more of a beautification project than a traffic easer.
Robert Sarrelli, state inspector general who monitors Big Dig spending: > When this project is done and after all the aggravation that people go through, I think people are going to be sitting in a tunnel someday in 2004, sitting in traffic eating fumes, saying, "What did they do?"
I've said this many times. I said it many years ago, but the project is too big. It's driving itself.
Pushed in Congress a decade ago by former Speaker Tip O'Neill and Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy. Senators recall: > It was kind of known as the great Tip O'Neill project, and everybody seemed glad to do that for... > It's called the Central Artery, which the next time you go up, you'll see the interstate uh signs on it. We hope you'll enjoy your trips to New England.
Sign in to read the full notes
Get access to AI-generated notes, topic timestamps, and more.