The Boston Metro--a mostly daily, free paper, reported that the Big Dig was the most expensive public works project ever in the U.S. They were partly right, but mostly wrong. The U.S. Interstate Highway System, of which the Big Dig is a small part, is regarded as the most expensive public works infrastructure project in this country.
Our primitive little minds tend to be overwhelmed by large numbers, so the costs associated with the Big Dig make some people get all riled up. Granted, several hundred million dollars per lane mile does not seem very efficient, especially when compared with construction costs for a highway that connects Omaha with Topeka. The point we tend to miss is that the costs of projects like these can yield benefits that exceed their initial investment by a hundred-fold or more. Some of these benefits resist calculation--like being able to walk from Quincy Market to the North End without passing under an elevated highway.
I contend that they should replace the Cross Bronx Expressway with a tunnel. Why not? We don't build pyramids or cathedrals anymore.
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