Credits

John Forrester

Lauren Chapman

Ben Paulin

Maria Cardone

Craig Myra

1.21 gigawatts? 1.21 gigawatts? Great Scott!

In conclusion, the “Big Dig” is proving to be a valuable asset to the city of Boston. However, with the undertaking of such a large and ambitious project, the first of its kind, there will be challenges, obstacles, and unforeseen consequences. The benefits out-weigh the problems, which over time, are being solved with patience and further understanding of the project.

Negative After Effects

The most expensive public works project in the U.S. , which spans 7.8 miles and took 13 years to build, topped out at $14.6 billion. Costing $8 billion more than anticipated.

In 2006, Milena Del Valle was killed when a concrete ceiling panel fell on their car while in the tunnel. Because the death of Del Valle was determined to be caused by inferior construction materials, many of the Big Dig's construction methods and materials being used were called into question. Aggregate Industries, the largest concrete supplier for the underground portions of the project, were discovered by the MA State Police to have been using substandard concrete during the construction of the tunnel. Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney announced he would return $3,900 in political contributions from employees of Aggregate Industries.

The tunnel was said to have had thousands of leaks and an additional $52 million was spent on repairing the leaks in recent years.

The Big Dig!

Postitive After Effects

Positive Results of the Big Dig Project:
After the Big Dig, the most expensive public works project in history, was completed access to the airport was improved, traffic jams were reduced, and getting around in the city became much easier in comparison to the Central Artery. Beyond the tunnels build as part of the project, the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge was constructed and is the widest cable-stayed bridge in the world and the first hybrid and asymmetrical design in the United States. Builders used both steel (in the main span) and concrete (in the back spans).

Because of the new highway system, Boston's carbon monoxide levels will drop 12 percent citywide.

The project created more than 300 acres of new parks and open space, including 27 acres where the existing elevated highway stood, 105 acres at Spectacle Island, 40 acres along the Charles River, and 7 acres as part of an expanded Memorial Stadium Park in East Boston. Three quarters of the 27 downtown acres will remain open. The rest will be set aside for modest development, including retail, commercial, and housing uses in low-rise buildings. More than 2,400 trees and 26,000 shrubs were planted at Spectacle Island. Another 2,400 trees and more than 7,000 shrubs will be planted downtown.

The rumble of construction

• Started construction in 1991 and it lasted 16 years, until December 2007
  
• During the peak of construction, 5,000 workers were on the job Also during peak of construction, $3 million was spent a day.
  
• The project included 118 separate construction contracts, with 26geotechnical drilling contracts.
  
• The project required the largest use of segmental bridge construction and the largest application of steel box girders in the United States.
  
• The project is excavating a total of 16 million cubic yards of dirt, enough to fill Foxboro Stadium (where the New England Patriots football team and Revolution soccer team play) to the rim 15 times.
  
• The project placed 3.8 million cubic yards of concrete, enough to build a sidewalk three feet wide and four inches thick from Boston to San Francisco and back three times.
  When the project was finished, a total of $14.6 billion

Boston's Central Artery

Factors that led to the beginning of the project

• Beginning in the 1950s, an 1.5 mile long elevated highway section ran straight through the city, marring the historical aesthetic of the city.
  
• The project to construct the elevated highway displaced more than 20,000 people and demolished more than 1,000 structures.
  
• The Central Artery, completed in 1959, was designed to carry 75,000 vehicles a day.
• 190,000 vehicles per day by the mid-1990s
• The structure was beginning to crumble as the year 2000 approached, it was clear that a new system was needed.
  

Introduction to the Big Dig

The video you just saw was not from the tunnels of Boston's Big Dig, but from Lefortovo Tunnel in Russia, which runs under the surface of a lake. The automobile crashes were a result of water on the surface of the road because the tunnel had a serious leak problem.

Though we are not trying to assert that this could happen in Boston, we would like to highlight the fact that the construction of underwater tunnels is a complicated, and technically challenging endevor.

Our aim is to show the reasons why the project was began, how it impacted the city negatively and positively, and develop a thesis on whether the project was a success or not.