"The Big Dig has created more than 300 acres of open landscaped space. Taking the place of the old central artery is a system of parks that has been christened the Rose Kennedy Greenway..."

Partially true -- but very deceptive -- as the majority of the 300 acres are nowhere near downtown Boston where the old Central Artery was located. With some difficulty you can locate 15 acres of parks in the vicinity of the original Central Artery -- the rest of the nearby parks are in Cambridge, or in East Boston. Further a-field, most of the park acreage is the product of the dirt from the dig being used to reclaim a quary in Quincy and a couple of landfills on Spectacle Island in the harbor and in West Roxbury for parkland.

Westy

SORRY FOR THE DOUBLE POST, BUT I NOTICED THE POST DOESN'T ACCEPT ITALICS SO MY COMMENTS ARE NOW HIGHLIGHTED BY "QUOTATION MARKS"

I�d like to correct a number of the auhors errors and misconceptions. So I�ve annotated the article in "quotation marks".

Over the past decade, the Big Dig has been an unavoidable part of Boston urban life. Unavoidable both in the literal sense that construction often crippled the flow of traffic in and out of the city, but also in that the Big Dig became a kind of seemingly interminable curse to which Massachusetts had been subjected.

"The Big Dig was a monumental undertaking that just happened to reshape Boston and improve the metro region for the better and prepare the city for success for the next 50 years. Boston traffic was much worse before construction began and it was actually improved during the construction period. The complex construction staging that was required for this project necessitated complex traffic shifts, but the public was able to adapt within days and traffic again would flow smoothly. Boston actually thrived during the heaviest 1o years of construction and was virtually recession free during this time."

For more than a decade, Bostonians coped with the inconvenience and unpleasantness of the Big Dig. One of the largest public works projects in history, the development ballooned in price as well as duration and finally came to an end this past December when the Massachusetts Transportation Authority (MTA) and contractor Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff formally ended their partnership. After sixteen years, the Big Dig has finally been dug.

"The cost of the project increased, but so did its complexity. In 1981 the back of the envelop estimate was $2.6B (in 1981 dollars no inflation or schedule duration atttached to this political dream number) to build the concept of the Big Dig. It was a conceptual estimate not tied to the reality of a design. The real conceptual investigation and engineering didn�t start until 1986. The final permits for the concept weren�t complete until 1994 at which time the project was internally estimated to be $13.8B, although publicly $10.8B, you can check with the Inspector General reports. The Project as permittted and designed under the �do no harm� evironamental edict and was full of mitigation $; for better detours, more restrictive work hours, heavier dust and noise controls less impacts to business. This incredible project was undertaken in the heart of one of the US�s oldest and cramped downtown urban cores and it was a success from every perspective."

The Boston Beer Works restaurant, located next to Fenway Park, offers a �Big Dig� Brownie, a landfill of chocolate, confections, and ice cream that is billed as �16.5 billion dollars of flavor for only $6.� It is likely that the caloric bill of this sundae is as large as the inflated price tag of the Big Dig: 14.6 billion dollars. While the restaurant does overestimate the final cost of this great Northeastern public works debacle, their comparison is more apt than the average microbrew-guzzling Red Sox fan may realize. The Big Dig, conceived as a sweet solution to the city�s transportation ills, proved to be a jumbled morass that has taken much longer to finish than expected. Looking back on this project � which the MTA compares to the construction of the Panama Canal and the Chunnel � it�s hard not to ask �Was it worth it?�

�Now that it�s done, of course I think it�s great,� said David Cheeseman, a North End business owner who has been in the area since the 1960s. �But if you had asked me two years ago, or two months ago, I probably would have given you a different answer.� Started in 1991, the Big Dig was originally slated to be completed by 2003. The original estimated price of around eight billion dollars quickly proved to be too low. �At one point they had to close down the sidewalk, so people couldn�t even see my store,� he explained �?rmany of his neighbors feel that it will take �a couple of decades of enjoying this before we forget the couple of decades of hating it.�

According to Mac Daniels, an MTA spokesman, the average drive time across Boston has been reduced from almost 20 minutes to only two. The completion of the Big Dig also allows for direct road access to Logan Airport and the Western Turnpike, as well as directing route I-90 through the Ted Williams Tunnel.

"The substantial benefits of the project were in place and active by mid 2004, additional construction to remove the green monster (old artery) took another year and this allowed the ramps and final street system to be finalized downtown and make way for the �Greenway�."

Safety issues have plagued the last stages of construction and overshadowed some of the project�s benefits. But even the terror of plummeting ceiling tiles is partially allayed by the fact that the accident rate on the old deteriorating elevated highway was four times the national average for urban interstates. Daniels also notes that with the Big Dig, the city can expect many �ancillary benefits.� Ease and efficiency of travel provides �an incentive for businesses to locate here,� Daniels noted, �something that may be of interest to [college students] during this economic downturn.� Additionally, Daniels added that the Big Dig has �significantly reduced environmental costs� as well as air pollution within the city. Yet the Big Dig has also made Boston �greener� in a more tangible way.

"Safety issues have not �plagued the Project� although the misguided perception of them has. Yes, there was the tragic death when the ceiling panels collapsed in 2006. As it turns out this was the result of the wrong epoxy being supplied by the manufacturer for a purpose that it wasn�t suitable for, and that supplier has been indicted for the wrongful death.

The benefits of this project are just being realized as the downtown and south boston waterfront experience a rebirth. The project has established Boston to successful for the next 50 years with a renewed and vibrant downtown core and new infrastrcuture and utilities to support business growth. Boston is a vibrant city because of the Big Dig; traffic flows in Boston at rush hour; Logan International Airport is just 5-10 minutes away, our transit system was improved and expanded while the Big Dig was being constructed. There is no question that Boston is a much better city because of the Big Dig."

It doesn't accept the apostrophes you are using either. We'll fix it.