TxDOT to add two lanes to 35 through downtown (Austin, Cesar Chavez: bankrupt, construction)

[Aquitaine]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Dig

From the article:

The Big Dig was the most expensive highway project in the US, and was plagued by escalating costs, scheduling overruns, leaks, design flaws, charges of poor execution and use of substandard materials, criminal arrests,[2][3] and one death.[4] The project was originally scheduled to be completed in 1998[5] at an estimated cost of $2.8 billion (in 1982 dollars, US$6.0 billion adjusted for inflation as of 2006).[6] However, the project was completed only in December 2007, at a cost of over $14.6 billion ($8.08 billion in 1982 dollars, meaning a cost overrun of about 190%)[6] as of 2006.[7] The Boston Globe estimated that the project will ultimately cost $22 billion, including interest, and that it will not be paid off until 2038.[8] As a result of the death, leaks, and other design flaws, the consortium that oversaw the project agreed to pay $407 million in restitution, and several smaller companies agreed to pay a combined sum of approximately $51 million.[9]

[scm53]

Originally Posted by Aquitaine

From the article:

The Boston Globe estimated that the project will ultimately cost $22 billion, including interest, and that it will not be paid off until 2038.

Boy, what a buzz kill you are. Next thing, you will tell the kiddies there is no Santa Claus.

[Trainwreck20]

My SIL lived in the Boston area for most of that fiasco...

[scm53]

Yup, the infamous Big Dig cost overrun was a combination of unexpected geologic problems...

Left out one:

Broadly speaking, mitigation was the state’s promise to alleviate the Big Dig’s impact on Boston, from interrupting business to harming the environment. Mitigation eventually accounted for about one-third of the Big Dig’s cost—from the thousands of dollars needed to outfit North End apartments with air conditioning, soundproof windows, and firm mattresses as residents settled in for a decade of construction to the more than $1 billion needed to rework a planned bridge that business leaders, residents, and the nearby city of Cambridge considered ugly.

Pretty sure those things would never happen in downtown Austin.

[cBach]

Originally Posted by Westerner92

This is the ideal solution in my opinion. What the price tag is and whether anyone wants to pay said price are the big questions. I'd spitball that it's a $5-10 billion project, and you could build several commuter rail lines for that price.

Yep this is what is needed.

People complain about the Big Dig, but I remember going to Logan via the Sumner/Callahan tunnel and having to allocate hour to make flights. Then when the Mass Pike opened to Logan, that hour logjam became a 15 minute drive. It really did improve traffic and the surface streets are now beautiful!

[petro]

The comparison of cut and cap to the big dig is absurd. The only similarity is that the big dig reconnected the North End and added parkland where a concrete monstrosity used to be. That is where the similarity ends.

[Aquitaine]

How is it absurd?

That's an honest question. Obviously we have less area to cover, but where I grew up, Big Dig was referred to as THE reason why large-scale, underground roads were not feasible. Sure the result is fine for people who don't have to pay the bills, but even half of that price tag isn't viable here. It's not even the price itself that's the issue for me - it's the fact that the total cost had no relationship at all to the estimate, even by government project standards.

[scm53]

The comparison of cut and cap to the big dig is absurd.

Since this is what started the comparison:

Better idea is to just totally submerge I-35 from the river to about Airport.

Underground you could have as many lanes as you want. The surface could be a nice boulevard. Initially I'd propose a 10 lane underground I-35 with a six lane boulevard above with a grassy median and trees.

It isn't absurd. And THAT can't be done by cut and cap.

[petro]

Originally Posted by Aquitaine

How is it absurd?

That's an honest question. Obviously we have less area to cover, but where I grew up, Big Dig was referred to as THE reason why large-scale, underground roads were not feasible. Sure the result is fine for people who don't have to pay the bills, but even half of that price tag isn't viable here. It's not even the price itself that's the issue for me - it's the fact that the total cost had no relationship at all to the estimate, even by government project standards.

The big dig was the most ambitious highway project ever executed in the US. It involved tunneling under a major metropolitan city as well as the Atlantic Ocean. I lived next to South Station for years and watched the construction progress.

Cut and cap is a standard highway project that has been implemented in many other cities.

A more accurate comparison would be another cut and cap project, such as Dallas and the now Klyde Warren Park.

[CarnivalGal]

Wait, you mean all those bike lanes and 130 didn't change anything??? How could they ever have predicted that? It's not like everyone hasn't been saying that for years...oh, wait.

They should have done it 20 years ago.