Megaproject Management: Lessons on Risk and Project Management from the Big Dig

Chapter 2

History and Financing of the Big Dig

The Planning for a megaproject must be different if a highway agency expects to achieve success. Project leaders and the management team must do more than just manage a project; they must manage a “public journey.”

Richard Capka, former federal highway administrator and CEO/executive director of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority (Capka 2004)

Introduction

The Big Dig has been depicted as one of the great projects of the twenty-first century (Tobin 2001). Because of its scale and impacts, the project has been a major issue in national and local politics for more than three decades. This chapter provides a brief overview and the historic background of the Big Dig, explains the pressing need for new infrastructure in the City of Boston and the extensive preconstruction and environmental planning process that was undertaken, as well as discussing the impact and benefits of this monumental endeavor. Finally, the concept of project finance is introduced along with the challenges of financing a megaproject with numerous political, technological, economic, and legal risks. Key features of megaproject finance are highlighted along with discussion of the various challenges in funding megaprojects where there are dramatic changes in budgets and schedule during long-duration projects.

The Vision

If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.

—Rudyard Kipling

The Central Artery/Tunnel Project—famously known as the ...