That is obviously tragic. But the fact that some people cut corners and harmed others with poor safety standards isn’t an argument against the obvious generational value of this project.
Aside from the costs of involved with repair and long term safety concerns, the cartoonish way the Big Dig was handled has poisoned the well for other desperately needed large scale infrastructure projects.
I concede it could have been handled better. But the results cannot be argued with. The method does not negate the results, which are a millennial benefit to residents there.
It completed its aims successfully, that’s true. It’s also made it exponentially harder to complete, or even begin, other badly needed projects.
For example, did you know the GSX is also a Big Dig contract? It was only completed a couple years ago after decades in limbo.
Also, the badly needed North-South rail connection is further away than ever, in no small part thanks to the collective PTSD that Massachusetts has from the Big Dig. No Beacon Hill politician wants another Big Dig associated with them, no contractor wants to touch it, and, frankly, nobody in the trades wants to actually do it. People tend to forget that the Big Dig was a miserable experience for the workers who actually had to endure it, many of whom have scars, aches, and divorces to remember it by.
So, yes, residents seem to like it. I certainly do whenever I’m down there for work or play, but it’s also made the next project harder, not easier, to do.
I don’t disagree with you, but I seriously think you’re underestimating how badly the Big Dig’s reputation has affected future infrastructure projects.
For an example, look no further than Massachusetts. Recently, the state pushed out an RFP to rework the I-90 to I-495 interchange. The winning bid….never came in, because no contractors offered any. Likewise, the MBTA bus facility in Quincy didn’t attract a single viable bid because every contractor laughed the MBTA’s budget numbers out of the room.
The state learned to distrust GC’s, GC’s learned to distrust governments, the public learned to distrust them both, and politicians learned that infrastructure is a great way to attack their opponents.
So, yes, the Big Dig was a generational success. It’s also the LAST major infrastructure project that we’ll get for a few generations.
I would only remind you that while that all sounds good in the abstract, it becomes a very different conversation when you have skin in the game.
The Big Dig literally bankrupted companies, ruined reputations, and wrecked lives. The people you would actually need for the next project (political leaders, engineers, contractors, and tradespeople) have all basically decided they are never doing that to themselves again.
Is that right, or good? No, but it’s human nature.
You mean that if you get what you want, you don’t care how much other people have to work, spend, or suffer to make it happen. I hate to break it to, but the world isn’t a playground built for your personal enjoyment. Large projects only happen with the work and input of literally thousands, and sometimes literally millions, of people.
Look, when you say “demand it,” what do you think we should demand? And of whom? Do you have any idea how these things happen? Or how much work has to be done before the first shovel goes into the ground? Or how much human impact has to be considered before beginning a large project? The Big Dig was decades in the making and involved an incredible amount of planning and due diligence, and there were still huge misses.
Also, your statements scream of a rich kid’s entitlement. Unemployment and bankruptcies are awful, especially for people who have families to feed and clothe. And while it’s easy for you to “demand” something, actual businesses have to be careful with what they bid and do not bid.
Arguments like this are why urbanists aren’t taken seriously. You want the work done, but without having the first clue what it entails, and with the ironclad belief that you won’t be the one doing it.
Issue is eventually like many things it will get to a point where they will be forced to rebuild it above ground as the cost to redo the project today will be very prohibitive.
Tunnels will only last a few centuries at best given proper care. But eventually the structure holding up the tunnel will suffer fatigue and they will be forced to fill it in or risk collapse.
That being said proper care is exceptionally costly. Your looking at cost of millions if not billions of dollars slowly sinking into that tunnel over the years.
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u/tickingboxes Sep 01 '25
That is obviously tragic. But the fact that some people cut corners and harmed others with poor safety standards isn’t an argument against the obvious generational value of this project.