Big Dig: The Good, Bad, and Ugly

TollRoads News reviews the "terminally inept Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff joint venture at the Massachusetts Turnpike's Big Dig project", and examines how the project is improving mobility -- estimated to be worth $168 million per year.

1 minute read

January 3, 2008, 1:00 PM PST

By Chris Steins @planetizen


"Dec 31 2007 marks the end of the terminally inept Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff project management joint venture at the Massachusetts Turnpike's Big Dig project. How such stellar companies could mismanage construction so totally is difficult to explain except in terms of the Turnpike's perverse structuring of the incentives - the send-us-the-bills-whatever deal which meant that the more B/PB screwed up the more they earned."

... "The project was soundly conceived and is delivering substantial transportation benefits. That's because Fred Salvucci's concept of replacing the old elevated with a higher capacity underground facility was excellent. Not only does the new facility have more travel lanes - 8 or 10 vs 6 previously - but it applies modern traffic engineering principles to minimize turbulence from the merges and the diverges of the expressway... The motorist benefits of all this have been studied and quantified, and they are huge."

Tuesday, January 1, 2008 in TOLLROADSnews

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

July 14, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Worker in yellow safety vest and hard hat looks up at servers in data center.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power

Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

July 18 - Inside Climate News

Former MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood standing in front of MARTA HQ with blurred MARTA sign visible in background.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns

MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

July 18 - WABE

Rendering of proposed protected bikeway in Santa Clara, California.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant

A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.

July 17 - San José Spotlight