Boston Opens $6.5-Billion Big Dig Tunnel
BOSTON — A 1.3-mile tunnel that represents the latest major piece of Boston’s $14.6-billion Big Dig was officially opened Friday.
The tunnel, which at $6.5 billion is one of the most expensive stretches of road in America, connects the Massachusetts Turnpike to Logan International Airport.
The tunnel will reduce the trip from downtown Boston to the airport from about 45 minutes in traffic to about eight minutes.
“Boston, one of the oldest cities in the country, will soon have one of the most advanced highway systems in the world,” Mayor Thomas Menino said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The Big Dig, officially known as the Central Artery/Third Harbor Tunnel Project, began in the 1980s and has become one of the most expensive highway construction projects in history.
In 1983, the Big Dig was estimated to cost $2.6 billion. But the project has been plagued by cost overruns, in part because of unanticipated construction challenges.
The next phase -- taking the elevated Interstate 93 and putting it underground -- should be finished by early 2004.
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