Bottom Of The Barrel

End of the line

As we close out 2007, Bostonians are going to celebrate not only the beginning of a new year but the end of a very long project - The Big Dig. December 31st marks the official end of the Central Artery/Third Harbor Tunnel Project, a joint venture that teamed megaproject contractor Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff with the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority to build the dizzying array of underground highways, bridges, ramps and a new tunnel under Boston Harbor — all while the city remained open for business.

For those of you who did not have the pleasure of living through the dig, here are some figures associated with the highway project:

• Original cost estimate: $2.6 billion
• Current cost estimate: $14.798 billion
• Length of project: 7.5 miles, about half in tunnels
• Amount of dirt removed: 16 million cubic yards
• Number of workers at peak construction: 5,000
• Number of workers killed: 4
• Number of lanes on the old elevated highway: 6
• Number of lanes on the new highway system: 8-10
• Number of historic artifacts excavated from the Big Dig's path: 200,000
• Weight of the project's final environmental impact report: 44 pounds
• Number of leaks discovered in roof-wall joints in 2004: 2,000 to 3,000
• Number of cars using the old elevated highway when it opened in 1959: 75,000/day
• Number of cars expected to use the new underground highway by 2010: 245,000/day
• Average trip through the center of Boston on the old Central Artery: 19.5 minutes
• Average trip through the center of Boston using the Big Dig: 2.8 minutes

Source: Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and Associated Press news reports

So this New Years Eve, Bostonians will raise a glass and cheer to the end of the Big [and very long] Dig.

posted by TheWino @ 4:17 PM