BIG DIG(1)

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Fahad Nawaz Khan (BBA, MSc )

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:-

Different projects come with various baggage. Some of them go over

cost and other over time. Every project has its hurdle and must be

overcome within time or else it becomes an obstacle to completion. It

does not mean if government is funding a project it will be all perfect.

Projects tend to go off the track and over run their estimated cost due to

improper planning and not keeping a consistent check and balance.

Likewise, Central Artery unofficially known as the BIG DIG went in to

chaos after all the years of research

and hard work. What started to be a

project to ease off traffic and

congestion went on to become a

nightmare for the government of

Boston exceeding the total cost to a

mammoth $22 Billion from 2 billion of its

estimated cost. Tragedies also

struck along the construction of Big

Dig but worst part is that the 9 years delayed project will not only recover

its cost till 2038 but according to experts the traffic jams and congestions

will be starting to happen in the very near future, that is by 2012-2013.

Only if more attention and continuous planning would have been given in

the project the government would have been enjoying the sweetness ofthe fruit on time rather than its bitterness.

Time Line for the Central Artery unofficially known as the

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BIG DIG

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Date

Description

1970s

The project was conceived

1982

Planning officially began

1983

Project was estimated at $2.8 billion-Environmental studies began

1987

Public funding bill was passed by the US congress

1991

Ground was first broken to began the project

1994

Environmental clearance was delivered

1998

Project should have been completed

199

950% of the project was complete

2001

Contractors got aware of 400-600 leaks in the ceiling andwall fissures-70% of the project was complete

2004

95% of the project was complete-Major leak in the Interstate 39 (one of the routes) whichled to 700 further leaks-Problems started to pop

200

5

3 employees of the concrete supplier were arrested on

fraud charges2006

False ceiling collapsed on a car killing one passenger andinjuring other

2007

The project was completed at last-Completed after 9 years of delay-Interest was up till $7 billion- Cost overrun to staggering 22 billion to be exact $21.83billion in total- Cost of the project will not be paid till 2038

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TRAFFIC BEFORE

TRAFFIC AFTER

INTRODUCTION:-

Hundred of cities all over the world face traffic havoc every single day irrespective of

them being highly developed or their status of being a developing nation.

Traffic has always been an issue in commercial cities. So how are they tackled?

Well, depending on the situation, different strategies have been applied. Even by

building bridges, trains and subways, creating diversions to subjecting vehicles to

certain limitations, putting the traffic congestion to rest has always been the tougher

curb.

So what happens when one of the largest cities in one of the richest nations of the

world faces a traffic qualm? What happens when thousands of automobiles congest

at one of the most important highways of the city and there is no other way to get to

your destination except to wish for a miracle to make your car fly?

The fate of Bostons highway construction shall be discussed and analysed in fine

details with regards to its inception in the mid 20th century till its completion in the21st century. As a major highway project, it had planned to re-route the central artery

through the heart of the city in to a long tunnel of about 4 miles.

So what was the central artery and if it was already built, then why did things take yet

another decade to be planned out?

The original plan was conceived in the 1970s to replace the central artery which was

becoming quite rusty. Other than that, there was the bumper to bumper traffic which

was quite a headache for the business community due to the fact that the highway

was one of the access to the main terminal, the Logan Airport. The people therefore

often took the alternative route through the Third Harbor Tunnel. The mayors

planned to knot the two projects together, the Central Artery and the Third Harbor

Tunnel 6 (Massdot, 2011).

The government had good support from the city people, especially the business

community as it would ease the travelling for all.

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The planning of it therefore officially started in 1982, but by the time all the

concerning issues had been taken up and reviewed, 4 years had passed. It was the

year 1987, the bill to start the project was passed, but again turned down by the

president due to its expensive costs. It then took another 4 years, for the decision to

be reversed and the project finally got a go-ahead signal (Lewis, R. 2002).

COST, DELAYS AND INTER RELATED OBSTACLES ANALYSIS:-

During its review in 1985, the project was initially estimated at around 2.8 billion

dollars. By 1986, it rose to $3.2b and another year later $4.4b. But by 1990 it had

gone up to approximately $5b. By then the officials had fleeting doubts for the cost

estimation to remain constant. They interpreted the cost to inflate further and go up

to significantly at least more than that of $10b.

The project planning started in the early 80s, but the actual execution began in

1991. The expected time of completion given was 1998. Even after four years after

the expected time of completion, there was no sign of operation except amagnanimous change in the cost estimation. It rose to a staggering $14.6b. The

project had an almost 200% increase in the budget over-run (Massdot, 2011).

Besides the two major factors of finances and timing, the project had yet other

concerns to be accountable for. One of them happened to be the environmental

factor and the other being the engineering of the project. Bigger problems resided

with the digging up of the tunnels. Even though they comprised largely of landfills,

they also included subways and lots of utility piping that would have either had to be

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moved to another place or simply replaced. Digging meant the workers would

explore not just earthy substance, but also encounters with archaeological,

histological and geological artefacts and obstacles such as parts of ruined residential

compounds, glaciar debri and innumerable sunken ships within. However, the project

had taken care of two objections; one being the release of harmful toxic materials

and the other of displacing the millions of rats which would incur as a consequence

to deep excavation and would then go wandering the streets of Boston (Massdot,

2011).

Another challenge they had to face was to

allow the daily commutes to continue operating.

Thousands of passengers travelled, using thetunnel as well as the trains. The engineers had

to devise a plan in such a way that the daily

commuting would not slow down due to the

ongoing construction and for that they used a

technology savvy engineering of GROUND

FREEZING. The soil under the tunnel tracks

was really soft and loose and therefore it wasmandatory to ground freeze in order to ensure

firm n solid settled tracks that wouldnt danger

the railway track operations. Ground freezing

was a smart decision taken side by side with the construction to assure smooth

operation of the normal daily traffic. Bring water was pumped into thousands of pipes

present under and around the tracks and over a subtle amount of time the brine

worked in a way to withdraw the seat released from the soil and in turn cause the soil

to freeze from outside the pipes (Lewis, R. 2002).

The construction of the big dig was completed in stages. In early January, the I-90

connector tunnel extension inauguration took place. The elevated i-93 tunnel, which

had to go underground, was completed over a span of a further 10 months, the

southbound lanes opening several months after the northbound lines.

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By 2004, two other small tunnels and connectors had started operation and almost a

year later, big dig was 95% completed. 5% remaining construction was contributed

to major resurfacing and ramp forming, plus reconstructing the streets as well as

minor configurations of the over lanes and tunnels (Massdot, 2011).

By early 2006, the final exit ramp was completed and the petty configurations hadbeen taken care of.

But even then it still wasnt the end of the obstacles for the big dig. Soon after the

final inauguration, problems started surfacing. And it wasnt that the contractors were

not aware of it, or that the problems arrived spontaneously, but they knew that

substandard material was used for the

construction. The officials knew that there

were thousands of leaks in the walls and ceilings

of the project. The drainage systems were

overloaded and water had extensively

damaged the steel structures. Another

$10m was required to repair all the leakages

and existing defects. It is believed that the

tunnel was never cleared off debri and

related wastage before pouring in the concreteand that is why it faced so much destruction

(Lewis, R. 2002). Considering these defects minor, they were repaired without

bringing them out in the public eye, but unfortunately a major leak in the year 2004,

brought back all the discrepancies of the tunnel in front of the people of the city of

Boston (World Interesting Facts, 2011).

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http://www.worldinterestingfacts.com/http://www.worldinterestingfacts.com/

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All the leakages ever taken place since its inauguration were exposed. Because of

the severity of the leakages, the investigations were extensive and it was discovered

that approximately around a 1000 leaks were present overall.

In 2006, while a passenger was travelling to the

airport, one of the concrete ceilings of the tunnel

came crashing down killing the passenger and

injuring her husband. Because of this incident,

the road got blocked with traffic and so indirectlykilled another patient who was being taken to the

hospital, but the ambulance was caught in the

unmovable car chaos. After a long interrogation it

came to be known that very substandard epoxy

glue, which is used for short term bonding, was

used to hold the roof in place (Wikipedia, 2011).

Cost over-run, extensive delay of the project operation, major leakages, substandard

usage of materials and fatal accidents. With so many economical, political and

environmental destructions, what exactly had happened? Was the authority to be

blamed for? Or was it simply a game of destiny and eventually meant to happen?

Lets analyse the different causative factors affecting the construction process and

the after effects and the ultimate consequences.

Cost and time over-run:

It took almost 5 years for the bill to be passed. The bill undoubtedly consists of the

overview of the entire project. From its cost to time till the possible difficulties that

could be encountered. True that nobody can determine the exact budget, so even

when the project goes a little flexible, how much over budgeting is allowed? A few

hundred thousands, millions or even a billion? But how does one explain the cost

overrun to go beyond 11 billion dollars?

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Should the officials be blamed for being incapable of devising the wrong approximate

costs or should the unforeseen changes taking place during the construction, be held

responsible?

In this case, it is observed to be both. According to some media and news, it was

reported that the officials were aware that the cost would never be what it was

initially projected to be at $2.8m. But they reported it in the bill that way in order to

have the project approved. Whether they were prepared of it going beyond $11m is a

question that will probably remain unanswered for good (Wikipedia, 2011).

The project was described as the biggest most complex highway project in the

history of US. Bearing that in mind, its tender had to be given to several contractors.

It was nothing that one company could handle alone. The project had big money

and money changes the best of interests. The two main companies handling the

major part of the project broke their agreement. This disagreement caused a lot of

finances being misused or rather displaced (Ahmed, T. 2008).

Other than the dirty political games played between various government officials and

private companies, environmental factors also did play a significant part in the cost

overrun. Repairs cost hundreds of millions, but why was there room for repairs in thefirst place? Definitely because of sub standard material implementation. Investigating

responsibilities for the leakage and other weak construction material, lawyers and

government officials tried determining the exact actual reason for the mishaps. Over

2 thousand hours were spent by an expert engineer using marine geotechnical

experience. No definite cause was found, hence it was ultimately attributed to

unforeseen site changes and conditions plus the contractors incapabalities of

working under pressure which eventually took its toll on the project (Ahmed, T.

2008)

Due to the constant obstacles such as low quality

material, disagreement between companies,

leakages and their repairs, new projects in

collaboration with this project being suggested and

then being cancelled due to budgets; all lead to the

delay in project. But no doubt, the major reasonstood to be the costs which slowly increased over

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the years and in order to avoid their increase, the projects memo was constantly

changed or rather reduced to keep the costs low, in turn costing several years on the

timeline.

PROBLEMS AND ROLE OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT:-

One thing should be clearly understood, that planning stage is as important as the

developmental stage. Often things are not included in the original design plan, and

when they surface during development phase they raise huge issues, schedulingand costing, just like the Big Dig did. The golden rule is: take your estimate and

double it (Boston, 2011).

Project managers should also keep knowledge of the latest on goings. Ignorance of

the matter as being insignificant can most certainly become the main cause of

tragedy after the construction is completed. Had the leaks been seriously taken from

the first time they had come into notice, the problem would probably not have been

so magnanimous (Boston, 2011).

Bechtel never did a test on the ventilation system of the tunnel till after a year after

the project had already been opened to the city. Once opened, it was eventually

found out that a contractor had left spaces in the ventilating system which meant

that in case of fire or smoke, there would be no way for its escape.

An investigation company called Globe investigations went in to a yearlong

interrogation on the Big Digs management company from San Francisco, called the

Bechtel Groups and the other one being

Parsons Brinckerhoff from Newyork. The

investigation started after the officials felt

that the root of all the problems were due

to the mismanagement of this group. It

was not one error that could be

overlooked but actually a string of similar

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problems were credited to Bechtels account. Investigating authorities calculated that

during cost over runs, $1.6B or better put as the two thirds of cost over run, were

solely due to the Bechtels incapabilities as a project management firm and hence

their foolish mistakes (Wikipedia, 2011).

Repairing and reviving the construction errors ultimately summed up to a $1.6B

which can be clearly called to the discrepancies in the design and architect, a further

$400M due to contractors finding construction conditions different from the actual

design and what they really had to put up with, and approx another $800M went to

labor and material costs that were no doubtedly the fault of a low grade design.

Further investigation into the 17 year record of Bechtels association with the Big Dig,

it was revealed that the company

never performed the most

fundamental duties of a project firm.

Examples include carrying out field

surveys which would have given them

an insight in to the occupied and free

spaces. Had that being carried out

earlier, the utility lines would not have

been placed under the building of the

present Fleet center, but

unfortunately for them, they didnt

even mention of such a landmark

present in that region and eventually gave a 350M$ over run (Wikipedia, 2011).

Further exposed, Bechtel was caught to create incomplete and fully flaw designswhich cost the project approximately $800M. The Bechtels claimed to have given the

full and final designs at the time of bid. It was true that they did create all the basic

and advanced designs for the Big Dig along with scheduling it, but it was a complete

lie to have said that the designs were complete and competent. Even after they

made their mistakes as the incompetent architects, they didnt bother heeding

erwarnings from their own engineers. It was only after the damage was huge and

noticeable that the Bechtels would run after fixing it causing millions of cost over

runs. And even the money that was required for the repair and fixtures was

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requested towards the government to account for. This way they got the state to

approve hundreds of millions of more dollars to cover up their flaws and mistakes

that were entirely their responsibility (Ahmed, T. 2008).

PROJECT MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES:-

So how would project management have helped in sorting out the issues analysed

above. What actions should have been taken by the owners, employers and the

contractors to ensure a smoother operation for the big dig?

To begin with there should have been:

1. Transparent and honest bidding processes for selecting contractors and

suppliers (no favours should have be done and decisions should have been

totally unbiased).

2. More involvement from the government side which would have caused an

impact of consistent check and balance on the suppliers and the contractors

(Greiman, V., 2010).

3. Strict standards and reviewing them from time to time in order to keep the

projects standard on the watch for a better as well as a timely finish.

4. Integration of all the contractors should have made so the planning and

execution would be more responsible (Boston, 2011).

5. Deep communication between the parties would have the conditions clearly

and more understandable to gauge the performance of the project.

6. Better Incentives, aim and objectives should have been made in to the

contracts during the projects life cycle to make sure that the safety quality,

standard, commitments and financial data is on the straight line to meet the

schedule and budget (Kanu, F. n.d.).

KEY LESSONS:-

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Now after this extensive reporting, what lessons should the Big Dig have to teach

us? What are things that are to be kept in mind while making a project outline and

projecting an outcome? Some are discussed here.

Firstly, keeping aside political and economical interests, the project officials must

always be honest towards their investigations and reviews. Eliminating small details

for other illicit benefits can eventually cost money, schedule and most importantly,

lives. Once that bill is passed, the project managers should have complete

comprehension of the fact that the larger is the project, the more important it is to

break it down into smaller ventures. This not only reduces complexity but also gives

a clearer insight in to the under-going processes. This way various individual

companies can be accountable for their part without much hassle being created forthe other departments of the project (Kanu, F., n.d.).

Project integration is the KEY to a successful project.

In order to ensure quality within a comfortable budge and safety, goals should be

built into contracts throughout the project instead of it being judged at the start and

finish only. Field surveys should be conducted rigorously at all times (Greiman, V.,

2010).

And most importantly, all firms should always keep in mind that doing things like it

has always been done cannot be applicable to every project. Complex projects

require a good competent design that can go under constant innovation and a

cultural collaboration without going over the cost and finishing on the scheduled time.

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References:-

1. Ahmed, T. (2008) Why do most projects go over budge, [Online] Viewed on 04

March 2011, http://sithsigma.wordpress.com/2008/05/31/why-do-most-

projects-go-over-budget/

2. Boston, (2011) Road to Tradegy,A history of Big Dig problems, [Online] Viewed

on 13 March 2011, http://www.boston.com/news/specials/big_dig_problems/

3. Greiman, V., ( 2010)The Big Dig: Learning from a Mega Project, [Online] Viewed

on 03 March 2011, http://www.nasa.gov/offices/oce/appel/ask/issues/39/

39s_big_dig.html

4. Kanu, F. (n.d.) What To Do When Your IT Project Is Late, Over Budget, and

Looks Like Its Never Going To Work, [Online] Viewed on 04 March 2011,

http://www.geniusone.com/pdf/WhatToDoWhenYourITProjectIsLate.pdf

5. Lewis, R. (2002) Big Dig overrun is just plain big, [Online] Viewed on 03 March

2011,http://flyvbjerg.plan.aau.dk/News%20in%20English/BostonGlobe

%20Costlies%20140702.pdf

6. Massdot, (2011) The Central Artery/Tunnel Project - The Big Dig, [Online]

Viewed on 24 February 2011, http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/

Highway/bigdig/bigdigmain.aspx

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7. Wikipedia, (2011) Big Dig, [Online] Viewed on 28 February, 2011,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Dig

8. World Interesting Facts, (2011) Top 10 Most Expensive Projects In The World,

[Online] Viewed on 01 March 2011, http://www.worldinterestingfacts.com

/human/top-10-most-expensive-projects-in-the-world.html
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