The price tag for massive project to bridge the Ohio River in Louisville, Kentucky complete with dual approach tunnels, has long been a source of controversy. Another sudden cost increase has one commenter wondering how this keeps happening.
Aaron Renn checks in with the “Indiana Big-Dig” aka “The Tunnel Under the Trees” aka “The Boondoggle Ohio River Bridges project”—a 2.6 billion highway project that is the work of the departments of transportation in Kentucky and Indiana. After Indiana claimed to have found $209 million on the project due to design changes, Renn caught a mysterious price increase in a recent news report.
“Remember that $260 million tunnel under the trees in Louisville?…Would you believe the price went up by almost $80 million at the same time Indiana claimed it ‘saved’ $209 million on it through design changes? Of course you would.”
“Yesterday the Courier Journal reported that the actual tunnel was cost $338 million – that’s a $78 million increase over 2010 and a $36 million increase over our max burn scenario in 2012.”
Renn also presents a couple of possible scenarios to explain the loose math, but neither of them are particularly flattering to the state DOTs.
FULL STORY: How State DOT Math Works
In Indiana, Highway Building Is an End in Itself
As the first segment of the new $2-3 billion freeway called I-69 linking Evansville and Indianapolis nears completion, Southwest Indiana leaders are already agitating to build the state's next "massive boondoggle," writes Aaron Renn.
Louisville's Infamous Spaghetti Junction to Get Safety Review
Three tractor trailers overturned in less than a month while navigating Spaghetti Junction in Louisville—the maze of twisting ramps and interchanges that sparked viral notoriety at the end of 2016.
Critiquing Louisville's New Ohio River Bridge Tolls
Many in the urbanism community were shocked to see the scale of the recently completed "Spaghetti Junction" in Louisville, but the tolling system that will fund the project is just as critical to consider.
Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.
Bend, Oregon Zoning Reforms Prioritize Small-Scale Housing
The city altered its zoning code to allow multi-family housing and eliminated parking mandates citywide.
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.
LA Denies Basic Services to Unhoused Residents
The city has repeatedly failed to respond to requests for trash pickup at encampment sites, and eliminated a program that provided mobile showers and toilets.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
planning NEXT
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie