[Simmy2.5]

Although I got this from Yahoo, the story itself came from the LA Times. To be safe, I'm excerpting it.

Woohoo! California could have its very own Big Dig! And not just one either!

[Heatseeker]

Oh yeah, that's where I want to be when some 7.5 earthquake comes along - in a 12-mile tunnel.

[KeyWest]

Right over each tunnel entrance will be the quote- "Feeling lucky, Punk."

[Savage Beast]

Driving in L.A. is a nightmare. The exit lanes are not well marked. When you finally reach your exit, you realize that you have to exit left instead of right (or vice versa) and must cross 6 lanes of speeding traffic which is impossible. Then you have to drive to San Diego before you can turn around. By then, you've been routed to Palm Springs. Periodically you exit and ask somebody directions. Nobody knows where anything is. Most of them don't speak English and just arrived from the Island Nation of Zaza or some other place you never heard of. Finally you conclude that you can't get wherever it was you were planning to go; so you just drive out into the desert somewhere, stop the car, and see if you can recover.

On the other hand, I'd hate to be in the tunnels when The Big One hits--or even a Little One.

[Abathar]

And just how many billions did that little tunnel cost? Add in the fact that all that work has to be done in the Peoples Republic of California and you are talking about the GDM of most smaller countries to do this. You could probably build a skyway over the city for the same cost.

[dennisw]

Money grows on trees? I seriously doubt the Feds will hand off 14 billion to Cali the way they did to Boston Massachusetts for the "big dig"

[Rose of Sharn]

Please forgive me for asking such a silly question, but since earthquakes have been known to occur in California from time to time, wouldn't it make more sense to stack the highways above ground rather than dig one below ground?

[wouldntbprudent]

There's only one way to relieve traffic congestion: restructure the work world so that every employee who can do his/her job from home works from home.

We have the technology to make work-at-home seamlessly integrated with the traditional office. And it's a lot more reliable, less costly and less risky than digging big holes through fault-infested landscapes.

There are millions of people who are only required to go into an office so that a "manager" can get paid to stop by their cubicle once in a while.

[One_American]

[One_American]

[cynicom]

Perhaps it would be cheaper to just pay the people to move away?

[Cowman]

California could have its very own Big Dig! And not just one either!

Hey, The 93 tunnel is great! Only 15 billion over budget and you get a car wash and grilled fish to take home. /sarcasm

[poindexter]

Why not just put (sturdy) top decks on the freeways?