I used to live in Boston. The first time I saw the Big Dig completed, it was a tremendous improvement.
But man, was that a corrupt project. How many Billions disappeared?
Posted on 10/23/2018 12:13:28 AM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Talk to neighbors and transportation activists, and you’ll get pretty much the same answer: The best option for replacing the aging Massachusetts Turnpike viaduct in Allston is a new stretch of highway at ground level.
Ask state Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack, who will make the final call, and, well, she’s still wondering if the state should just build another viaduct.
Pollack will know more soon, when a consultant is expected to weigh in with a deep analysis of the options for the $1 billion-plus project to straighten the turnpike where it curls around an old rail yard in Allston, the biggest local highway project since the Big Dig.
The debate centers on a similar key question the state faced when it was time to replace the Central Artery downtown: keep the road elevated or not?
The decision this time will shape the western gateway to Boston for generations and may result in more public access to a desolate stretch of the Charles long hidden behind Boston University by the highway viaduct.
“Any project like this is more about city building than getting people from point A and point B,” said Rick Dimino, president of the nonprofit group A Better City, which supports putting the highway at ground level.
The main driver of the project is the poor condition of the viaduct, but the straightening will produce an enormous side benefit: unlocking dozens of acres of land in Allston owned by Harvard University for development.
While transportation advocates and nearby residents have been fighting the state over the timing of a new rail station in the Harvard-owned section of the project, the question over replacing the viaduct has been another major point of contention.
(Excerpt) Read more at bostonglobe.com ...
Since when can fish fly?
Springfield just spent the last few years dealing with the same issue. If you thought the Big Dig sucked, wait until they start “rebuilding” Alston.
Another reason to stay out of Boston.
I used to live in Boston. The first time I saw the Big Dig completed, it was a tremendous improvement.
But man, was that a corrupt project. How many Billions disappeared?
Is that Storrow Drive next to it? That part of the pike is above the railroad tracks. Are they going to get rid of the tracks?
One billion dollars for about a mile long road project?
And you KNOW it will cost TEN billion before it’s done!
Corruption at its finest!
When on defense or in the charge, they should be leveled ...
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Oh, you're talking about roads?
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Never mind ...
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