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On Dec. 31, It's Official: Boston's Big Dig Will Be Done

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Traffic enters the Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. Tunnel, the major component of the Big Dig, Saturday Dec. 8, 2007, in Boston. The Big Dig, the nation's most complex and costliest highway project, will officially come to an end when the clock runs out on 2007.
Traffic enters the Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. Tunnel, the major component of the Big Dig, Saturday Dec. 8, 2007, in Boston. The Big Dig, the nation's most complex and costliest highway project, will officially come to an end when the clock runs out on 2007. (Elise Amendola - AP)
The partially deconstructed remains of the elevated portion of Interstate 93, also known as the Central Artery, snakes though Boston in this file photo taken Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2004. The elevated portion the highway, which opened to traffic in 1959, was designed to carry about 75,000 cars per day, but eventually carried up to 200,000 cars per day, resulting in frequent traffic jams.
The partially deconstructed remains of the elevated portion of Interstate 93, also known as the Central Artery, snakes though Boston in this file photo taken Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2004. The elevated portion the highway, which opened to traffic in 1959, was designed to carry about 75,000 cars per day, but eventually carried up to 200,000 cars per day, resulting in frequent traffic jams. (Steven Senne - AP)
A worker on the Big Dig makes his way down a muddy bank in a portion of the multi-billion dollar construction project in Boston in this file photo taken Tuesday, March 14, 2000.
A worker on the Big Dig makes his way down a muddy bank in a portion of the multi-billion dollar construction project in Boston in this file photo taken Tuesday, March 14, 2000. (Steven Senne - AP)
Vehicles, left, enter a portion of the "Big Dig" Central Artery Project tunnel which connects the Massachusetts Turnpike with Logan International Airport, moments after the section was opened to general traffic for the first time, in this file photo taken Jan. 18, 2003. The $6.5 billion, 1.3-mile tunnel allows people to drive from Logan to Washington state without getting off Interstate 90.
Vehicles, left, enter a portion of the "Big Dig" Central Artery Project tunnel which connects the Massachusetts Turnpike with Logan International Airport, moments after the section was opened to general traffic for the first time, in this file photo taken Jan. 18, 2003. The $6.5 billion, 1.3-mile tunnel allows people to drive from Logan to Washington state without getting off Interstate 90. (Michael Dwyer - AP)
The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, seen on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2007, sits where the elevated Central Artery once snaked through downtown Boston. The Greenway, the Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. Tunnell, and the Zakim Bridge are all components of what came to be known as the Big Dig.
The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, seen on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2007, sits where the elevated Central Artery once snaked through downtown Boston. The Greenway, the Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. Tunnell, and the Zakim Bridge are all components of what came to be known as the Big Dig. (Elise Amendola - AP)
Traffic moves on the elevated Central Artery that snakes through downtown Boston in this file photo taken in October 1991.
Traffic moves on the elevated Central Artery that snakes through downtown Boston in this file photo taken in October 1991. (Elise Amendola - AP)
The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, seen on the day of its official opening in this file photo taken Monday, Nov. 5, 2007, sits where the elevated Central Artery once snaked through downtown Boston.
The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, seen on the day of its official opening in this file photo taken Monday, Nov. 5, 2007, sits where the elevated Central Artery once snaked through downtown Boston. (Elise Amendola - AP)
Traffic moves on the elevated Central Artery through downtown Boston on the day before the scheduled opening of the southbound portion of the Big Dig, in this file photo taken Friday, Dec. 19, 2003.
Traffic moves on the elevated Central Artery through downtown Boston on the day before the scheduled opening of the southbound portion of the Big Dig, in this file photo taken Friday, Dec. 19, 2003. (Michael Dwyer - AP)
Automobiles are seen in this file photo taken Saturday evening, March 29, 2003 as they drive along the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge in Boston, moments after officials cut a ceremonial ribbon to open the roadway to traffic.
Automobiles are seen in this file photo taken Saturday evening, March 29, 2003 as they drive along the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge in Boston, moments after officials cut a ceremonial ribbon to open the roadway to traffic. (Michael Dwyer - AP)
Frederick Salvucci, MIT professor, and former Massachusetts transportation secretary, stands near the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge, in Boston, in this file photo taken Wednesday, April 26, 2006. Salvucci is the activist-turned-city-planner who was the early proponent of what came to be known as the Big Dig.
Frederick Salvucci, MIT professor, and former Massachusetts transportation secretary, stands near the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge, in Boston, in this file photo taken Wednesday, April 26, 2006. Salvucci is the activist-turned-city-planner who was the early proponent of what came to be known as the Big Dig. (Steven Senne - AP)
Firefighters inspect a section of ceiling in the Interstate 90 eastbound connector tunnel through Boston that collapsed onto the roadway and killed a woman passenger in a car, in this Sunday, July 10, 2006, file photo. The Big Dig project's darkest day came when the suspended concrete ceiling panels fell and crushed a car, killing39-year-old Milena Del Valle of Boston. The tunnel was shut down for months as each of the remaining panels was inspected and a new fastening system installed.
Firefighters inspect a section of ceiling in the Interstate 90 eastbound connector tunnel through Boston that collapsed onto the roadway and killed a woman passenger in a car, in this Sunday, July 10, 2006, file photo. The Big Dig project's darkest day came when the suspended concrete ceiling panels fell and crushed a car, killing39-year-old Milena Del Valle of Boston. The tunnel was shut down for months as each of the remaining panels was inspected and a new fastening system installed. (Michael Dwyer - AP)

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By Steve LeBlanc
Associated Press
Wednesday, December 26, 2007; Page A07

BOSTON -- When the clock runs out on 2007, Boston will quietly mark the end of one of the most tumultuous eras in the city's history: The Big Dig, the nation's most complex and costliest highway project, will officially come to an end.

Don't expect any champagne toasts.

After a history marked by engineering triumphs, as well as tunnel leaks, epic traffic jams, last year's death of a motorist crushed by concrete ceiling panels and a price tag that soared from $2.6 billion to a staggering $14.8 billion, there's little appetite for celebration.

Civil and criminal cases stemming from the July 2006 tunnel ceiling collapse continue, though on Monday the family of Milena Del Valle announced a $6 million settlement with Powers Fasteners, the company that manufactured the epoxy blamed by investigators for the accident. Lawsuits are pending against other Big Dig contractors, and Powers Fasteners still faces a manslaughter indictment.

Dec. 31 marks the official end of the joint venture that teamed megaproject contractor Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff with the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority to build the dizzying array of underground highways, bridges, ramps and a new tunnel under Boston Harbor -- all while the city remained open for business. Construction started in 1991.

The project was so complex, it has been likened to performing open-heart surgery on a wide-awake patient.

Some Boston residents didn't know if they would live to see it end.

Enza Merola had a front-row seat on the reconstruction from the front window of her pastry shop in Boston's North End.

During the toughest days of the project, the facade of Marie's Pastry Shop, named after Merola's sister, was obscured from view. The only way customers could find the front door was along a treacherous path through heavy construction.

"For a while, we thought we weren't going to make it," Merola said. "But you know, we hung in there."

The Central Artery/Third Harbor Tunnel Project -- as the Big Dig is officially known -- has its roots in the construction of the hulking, 1950s-era elevated Central Artery, which cut a swath through the center of Boston, separating the waterfront from downtown and casting a shadow over some of the city's oldest neighborhoods.

Almost as soon as the ribbon was cut on the elevated highway in 1959, many were already wishing it away.


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