What was the most expensive road tunnel?

No one project embodies that cynicism quite like what Bostonians call 'The Big Dig. ' Infamous for its ever-increasing price tag, this massive highway tunneling effort was once ridiculed as the Big Mess, the Big Hole, the Big Pig, the Big Lie. But now, decades later the story looks more complicated.



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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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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 ...

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However, the project was completed in December 2007 at a cost of over $8.08 billion (in 1982 dollars, $21.5 billion adjusted for inflation, meaning a cost overrun of about 190%) as of 2020.

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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.

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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.

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The Big Dig, a project funded by federal and stated monies (about 60/40), was substantially completed late in 2007 for nearly $15 billion.

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The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the July 10, 2006, ceiling collapse in the D Street portal of the Interstate 90 connector tunnel in Boston, Massachusetts, was the use of an epoxy anchor adhesive with poor creep resistance, that is, an epoxy formulation that was not capable ...

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The eventual successful project, organised by Eurotunnel, began construction in 1988 and opened in 1994. Estimated to cost £5.5 billion in 1985, it was at the time the most expensive construction project ever proposed. The cost finally amounted to £9 billion (equivalent to £21.8 billion in 2021), well over budget.

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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.

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The Ted Williams Tunnel crosses under Boston Harbor between South Boston and Logan International Airport in East Boston. The tunnel was built as part of the Big Dig project. It is named for one of the most famous members of the Boston Red Sox baseball team.

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