What city was home to the most expensive highway project in the U.S. history?


What city was home to the most expensive highway project in the U.S. history? The Central Artery/Tunnel Project (CA/T Project), commonly known as the Big Dig, was a megaproject in Boston that rerouted the Central Artery of Interstate 93 (I-93), the chief highway through the heart of the city, into the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. Tunnel.


What tunnel in Boston is underwater?

The Ted Williams Tunnel interface in East Boston between the land-based approach and the underwater section is 90 feet below the surface of Boston Harbor, the deepest such connection in North America. The project's seven-building ventilation system is one of the largest highway tunnel ventilation systems in the world.


Did the Big Dig reduce traffic?

The Central Artery/Tunnel Project was the largest, most challenging highway project in the history of the United States. It reduced traffic and improved mobility in one of America's oldest, most congested major cities. It built a framework for continued growth in Massachusetts and New England.


How many tunnels are in Boston?

The four tunnels vary in age between 19 years old and 88 years old. Both the Ted Williams Tunnel, which opened in 1995, and the Thomas O'Neill Tunnel, which opened in 2003, were part of the historic Big Dig project.


How deep is the Big Dig in Boston?

The deepest point of the underground highway is 120. That's beneath the Red Line subway tunnel at Dewey Square (Atlantic Avenue and Summer Street). The highest point is at State Street, where the highway passes over the Blue Line subway tunnel and the roof of the highway is the street above.


Who went to jail for the Big Dig?

Aggregate provided 60% of the concrete used to build the Big Dig. Indicted were: former general manager Robert Prosperi; dispatch manager Marc Blais; dispatch manager John Farrar; quality control manager McNally; district operations manager Gregory Stevenson; and dispatch manager Keith Thomas.


What caused the Boston Big Dig tunnel collapse?

WASHINGTON, July 10 — The ceiling collapsed in one of Boston's Big Dig tunnels a year ago, killing one woman, because builders used the wrong epoxy to hold the anchor bolts in place, the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday.


Where did the dirt from the Big Dig go?

About two-thirds of the dirt went to landfills and other sites. Moving all that dirt took more than 541,000 truckloads. If all those trucks lined up end to end, they'd back up 4,612 miles. That's all the way to Brasilia, capital of Brazil, as the crow flies, or to the Panama Canal over land.


What went wrong with the Big Dig project?

The project was plagued due to construction delays, cost overruns, flaws in the design, poor execution, use of low-quality material, and construction accidents. As per the earlier estimation, the project should have been completed by the end of 1998 with an estimated cost of USD 2.8 billion.