The original estimated cost was $2.8 billion. The final project cost was $14.6 billion. The Boston Globe estimates the Big Dig will ultimately cost $22 billion (with interest) and that it won't be paid for until 2038.
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There were some huge pros to the Big Dig: submerging the interstate cleared up some horrific traffic congestion (vehicles used to crawl for 10 hours a day), opened up 300 acres of land, and jumpstarted the Innovation District.
For the Big Dig the failure to uphold project standards resulted in leaks, a collapsed concrete panel that caused a death, falling light fixtures due to cracked and ruined nuts, and treacherous guardrails – among other problems.
But few had a bigger stake in the project than four high-stakes players: •Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff (B/PB) the joint venture hired by the Commonwealth in 1985 to manage Big Dig design and construction; •Federal Highway Administration (FHWA—in the U.S. Department of Transportation), the federal funding agency for the ...
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.
With interest, the project could ultimately cost around $24 billion, finally getting paid off in 2038. Besides creating a financial nightmare, the Big Dig was plagued by huge constructional flaws – which obviously added fuel to the fiscal firestorm.
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.
Perhaps ironically, the Blue Line takes several points of pride from its proximity to water, which gives it its name. Local historians claim the tunnel that runs under the harbor as the first underwater subway tunnel in the United States.
It was originally a two-way road that carried traffic in both directions, until the opening of the parallel Callahan Tunnel in 1961. The tunnel is 8,448 feet long, of which approximately 3,960 feet are underwater. In 2017, the state removed the tollbooths as part of a switch to electronic tolling.
Planning began in 1982; the construction work was carried out between 1991 and 2006; and the project concluded on December 31, 2007, when the partnership between the program manager and the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority ended.
The Sumner Tunnel was opened on June 30, 1934.It carried traffic in both directions until the opening of the parallel Callahan Tunnel in 1961. The Sumner Tunnel is named for William H. Sumner, the son of Governor Increase Sumner.