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FinalProjectPaper
THEBOSTONBIGDIG
MdMustafizurRahman
ID#449770
AvilaUniversity
December10,2016
1
PROJECT SUMMARY
The Big Dig Tunnel, situated in Boston, MA, that diverted the central artery
(Interstate 93), through the heart of the Boston city, into a 3.5 mile from the
tunnel. It is considered as one of Americas foremost megaprojects; the
largest and most complex urban transportation project in the history of the
America The project also included the construction of the Ted Williams
Tunnel, which extends Interstate 90 to Logan International Airport, the
Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge over the Charles River, and the
Rose Kennedy Greenway in the space left by the Previous raised road I-93.
Originally, the plan was to also attach a rail line between the two major
Boston train terminals. The project concluded on December 31, 2007, when
collaboration between the program director and the Massachusetts Turnpike
Authority was terminated.
The Big Dig has created both a positive and negative legacy for itself. From
an engineering perspective it is a big breakthrough as it devised new
techniques and methods for construction, replacing the congested six-lane
elevated
highway
with
technically
challenging
eight
to
ten
lane
year worth $177 million, $120 million per year in new property tax revenue.
However, The Big Dig was the most expensive highway project in the US
history. However, the project was plagued by increased costs, overprogramming, leaks, design flaws, poor execution charges and the use of
substandard materials, criminal arrests, and even four deaths. The project
was scheduled to be completed in 1998 at an estimated cost of $2.8 billion.
The project was not completed until December 2007 at a cost of $14.6
billion. The Boston Globe estimates that, ultimately the project will cost $22
billion, including interest, and which will not be paid until 2038.
The original plan was conceived in the 1970s to replace the central artery
which was becoming quite rusty. The planning of Big dig 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. The government had good
support from the city people, especially the business community as it would
ease the travelling for all.
SCOPE MANAGEMENT
The Big dig projects scope management was maintained professionally
throughout the project. The scope of the project clearly defined in the
beginning of the project and project managers maintained it quite well. As it
is one of the biggest project in worlds history, there were ups and downs to
manage the whole project. Step by step, project managers completed their
specific task and at the end of the project achieved its the final goal and
objectives.
TIME MANAGEMENT
For megaproject like The Big dig, Project manager need to make sure Workbased schedules, work packages with estimates and a work breakdown
structure (WBS) dictionary for each part of the Project. Time management is
one of the worst aspects of the big dig project. The project was originally
scheduled to be completed in 1998 but the project completed in 2007 due to
many reasons. First of all, it took almost 5 years for the bill to be passed
from Federal government due to financial and political reasons. Then the
construction complexity played crucial role to delay the project in different
stage of the project such as The Ted Williams Tunnel 3.4 feet gap error,
tunneling under south Boston railway system, tunneling under subway
redline, work with city life, major water leakages and so on. As the old city
was already congested there were very little room to move construction
parts which also took time in a great deal.
COST MANAGEMENT
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
QUALITY MANAGEMENT
Project like The Big dig requires quality control plus active quality assurance
with continuous improvement effort for the processes that produce
deliverables for the best output. As we know, The bigger a project, the bigger
the chances for problems. The Big dig project failed to maintain its quality.
Water leaks, Fatal ceiling collapse, Substandard materials, Lighting fixtures
and many more made the work of Big dig questionable. Here some of the
Boston local newspaper news regarding the Big dig:
People and engineers are worried for future as the time goes engineers are
finding more errors in the project.
to
build
the
largest,
most
complex,
and
technologically
challenging highway nearly 5,000 workers employed on the Big Dig in 2000.
Managing this huge team was not an easy task. For the big dig, one of the
most controversial issue was project labor agreement (PLA). The Big Dig, a
PLA project, is affectionately known by locals as The Big Swig due to union
workers visiting methadone clinics, sleeping and drinking heavily on the job.
COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT
The
Ideal
Communication
Plan
developed
for
meeting
stakeholders
are resolved. It is not a surprise to anyone that as projects grow larger in size
project
complexity
increases
and
more
complexity
needs
better
However,
Partnering
program
was
created
to
increase
RISK MANAGEMENT
For megaprojects project specialists suggest qualitative and quantitative
analysis with a risk response plan for several dozen risks and how to
overcome those risks. For the Big dig project risk analysts found several
unsolved risks. Such as the Massachusetts State and Massachusetts Highway
Departments Responsibility was not clear in terms of any accident or any
wrong doing, unreliable project Cost estimates, use of new technology, and
health and safety related risks.
To mitigate risk Project managers had plan. The effects of the project to local
business and homes were considered since the beginning. A few examples of
risk mitigation measures taken by the project were:
PROCUREMENT MANAGEMENT
In 1982, when the Big Dig was in its infancy, state construction laws
mandated that the Massachusetts Highway Department (MHD) use DesignBid-Build as the project delivery method. This traditional design-bid-build
method is the most popular project delivery system. It is intended to
minimize risk to the contractor by defining all of the construction
requirements in the plans, specifications, and contract documents. In this
method, the project owner may contract with a consulting engineering firm
to design the complete facility and prepare the contract documents. The
contracting agency then solicits bids and awards a construction contract to
the lowest responsive bidder. Because of its wide use and acceptance, the
traditional design-bid-build system is well understood with well-established
and clearly defined roles for the contracting agency and the contracting
industry. However, in response to years of criticism regarding state
construction laws, Massachusetts legislators passed construction reform
legislation in 2004.
instead
of
contracting
with
designers
and
the
Under
contractors
separately, owners contract with a single entity that is responsible for both
the project design and construction.
CONTROLLING
The processes for monitoring and controlling have changed significantly over
the course of the Big dig project. During the 1990s a comprehensive project
database was developed, using state-of-the-art relational database software,
to enable the detailed tracking of individual contract tasks and the assembly
of cost reports. Since no off-the-shelf programs were capable of handling
such
mammoth
project
as
the
Big
dig,
management
consultant
Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff (B/PB) developed a formidable constructioninformation system (CIS) using a commercial software system. The CIS,
which was not fully developed and available for use until about 5 years after
construction began, tracks almost every aspect of the project. That includes
all design and construction contracts and their funding sources, requests for
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Using the CIS, the project team generates a large number of progress
reports, providing what the committee believes might be an excessive
amount of information for managing the project. Much of that information
lacks the strategic view needed to develop a reliable construction schedule,
though this information may serve a purpose during the operation and
maintenance of the highway system.
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EXECUTION
12
YEA
R
198
2:
(FEIS/R)
198
5:
198
6:
consultant.
198
7:
198
8:
198
9:
199
0:
199
1:
13
2:
199
3:
All 12 tube sections for Ted Williams Tunnel are placed and
connected on harbor floor.
199
4:
199
5:
199
6:
199
7:
199
8:
199
14
9:
200
0:
200
1:
200
2:
200
3:
January.
I-93 Northbound opens in March.
I-93 Southbound opens in December.
200
4:
Opening of the tunnel from Storrow Drive to Leverett Circle
Connector, which provides access to I-93 North and Tobin Bridge.
200
5:
The opening of the completely renovated Dewey Square Tunnel,
including new exit and entrance ramps.
Opening of the two cantilevered lanes on Leonard P. Zakim Bunker
Hill Bridge.
Opening of permanent ramps and roadways at I-90/I-93 Interchange
15
6:
in January.
Spectacle Island Park opens to the public.
200
7:
Continued construction of the Rose Kennedy Greenway and other
parks.
Construction on development parcels will continue after the Central
Artery/Tunnel Project is finished.
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central artery carried not only north-south traffic, but much of this to west
traffic, a major cause of its all-day congestion which is gone now. However,
almost everybody criticizes about the over-budgeted cost of this project
which is very legitimate argument. Because authority failed to proper use of
$15 billion taxpayers money. Even some of the critics are very negative
about future outcome because of the technical and mechanical errors of the
Big dig. But as a whole, the Big dig improves the quality of life in the City of
Boston, MA.
From Project managements viewpoint I find out some positive aspects in this
project. Execution of such a gigantic project is always challenging. The good
thing of this project is there were low injury and fatality rate even though at
its peak level some 5000 workers worked every day. Additionally, this huge
project did not evacuate a single house or business establishment for project
purpose. Most interestingly, workers completed the whole project through
busy, live and narrow downtown area without shutting down any major
highways.
CONCLUSION
Mega projects will always struggle with unforeseen events, massive
regulatory requirements, technical complexities, community concerns, and a
challenging political environment. The Big Dig after completion was
successful in its overall project goal of reducing traffic congestion, the
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biggest negative to the Big Dig is the huge financial debt it has place on the
tax payer/state. The biggest lesson learnt from this megaproject is to shift
the risk to the investor, as this will produce a high degree of focus on the
project. Other lessons we have learnt from this project is that carrying out
functional activities the way they have been done in other constructed
projects does not work for megaprojects one size does fit all, appropriate
bid management system should be used in screening and selecting
contractors, also project integration is critical to success and while a system
integrator will greatly help in combining capabilities to develop the system,
reduce chaos, it is not a substitute for good management and leadership.
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REFERENCE
Data Retrieved from bellow websites:
https://www.scribd.com/doc/125274214/Big-Dig
http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/highway/thebigdig.aspx
http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/highway/TheBigDig/FactsFigures.aspx
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyldEaA5SJ0
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Dig
http://www.bechtel.com/getmedia/0202bc86-abaa-42ab-8d90-
db5224d31f4f/BigDig_KeyFacts_Dec2006/
https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/publicroads/04jul/08.cfm
https://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2015/12/29/years-later-did-
big-dig-deliver/tSb8PIMS4QJUETsMpA7SpI/story.html
https://www.nap.edu/read/10629/chapter/6
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