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Design a Better Boston Are you disappointed with the state of Boston's current architecture/development? Think you have a better idea? Post it here. |
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#1 |
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Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Anywhere, USA
Posts: 593
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Big Dig/Central Artery Redesign
Thought it would be cool for people unhappy or disgruntled with the Big Dig project to post ideas for redesigns here.
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#2 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: North Shore
Posts: 2,178
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Re: Big Dig/Central Artery Redesign
Quote:
The Ted Williams tunnel was the one part of the big that was worth it so keep that. |
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#3 |
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Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 4,679
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Re: Big Dig/Central Artery Redesign
Get a time machine, go back 20 years, place contractor oversight on a "Have You Seen Me?" milk carton PSA, throw a lot of con artists in jail, build same exact thing minus the killing-people part exactly the same way for two-thirds the cost.
Or build another viaduct...but this time a SUPERTALL. Like, so tall the Logan flight path goes under it! |
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#4 |
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Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 1,600
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Re: Big Dig/Central Artery Redesign
Redesign? I think most complaints are about the cost and process and not the result.
But if I had to pick one thing to go back in time for I would drop the Zakim bridge in favor of extending the tunnel northwards. I mean I know the bridge is "iconic", but the gain of more continuous waterfront along with a potentially developable land would have been good. |
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#5 |
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Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 1,277
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Re: Big Dig/Central Artery Redesign
The surface boulevard needs redesign to be less of a gun barrel highway, and more like meandering city streets. Also the ramp portals need some covering. And a light rail dual line on the surface.
That's my wish list for today. |
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#6 |
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Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 739
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Re: Big Dig/Central Artery Redesign
On process, drop the idiotic lie that 93 had to be kept open. I lived in the Bay Area when the Loma Prieta quake hit and took out the Bay Bridge. After a few weeks of commute hell, the region sorted itself out. Philly did without the Schuykill Expressway for two years. The Bay Bridge is more critical to Bay Area road network than 93 is to Boston metro, Schuykill is similarly crucial to Philly metro as is 93 to Boston. No matter how much people freak about taking a highway out, ANY highway can in fact be closed completely for years, and the region will get by. Any highway. Drivers adjust better than anyone could ever imagine ahead of time.
Then it's a straightforward demolition, followed by a cut and cover tunnel that would still have been savagely difficult, but not made incredibly and gratuitously more difficult by needing to suspend a goddamn freeway up above the work project throughout. Combined with more competent construction admin, enough money could have been saved to install the North / South rail link at the same time, instead of just clean-rooming the space for it. With the quantum leap of a north / south rail link under the freeway, maybe there'd not have needed to be so much surface roadway up on top. I'm not so confident about this last part. Insisting that we needed to keep 93 open up above the Big Dig was the Big Lie that killed the north / south rail link. |
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#7 | |
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Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 4,254
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Re: Big Dig/Central Artery Redesign
Quote:
South/North station; if they had finished it with the Big Dig, should they have done it as just subway, or go full, Amtrak/commuter train passage.... or could a Japan-style 3' 6" guage or DFW style tram have worked? |
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#8 | |
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Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 1,600
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Re: Big Dig/Central Artery Redesign
Quote:
Of course when someone asks the public whether they want the road/rail to remain open during construction the answer is yes... But it seems we don't get a price tag on these projects until those assumptions are already built in to the project. |
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#9 |
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: South Cove
Posts: 2,668
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Re: Big Dig/Central Artery Redesign
You really don't think that the previous administration was thinking just a bit about NOT disrupting the strongest economic engine in the entire region, Kendall Square, any more than necessary? Perhaps a small price to pay for a slower project?
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Jeff H. Downtown, South Cove |
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#10 | |
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Join Date: Oct 2016
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Re: Big Dig/Central Artery Redesign
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#11 |
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Join Date: Feb 2016
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Re: Big Dig/Central Artery Redesign
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#12 | |
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Join Date: Oct 2016
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Re: Big Dig/Central Artery Redesign
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#13 |
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Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 1,600
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Re: Big Dig/Central Artery Redesign
Sure, and we ended up with three to four times longer disruption than was necessary. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. The current repairs are taking longer than the original construction.
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#14 |
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: South Cove
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Re: Big Dig/Central Artery Redesign
Historic reconstruction usually does. This isn't some 1960's interstate bridge.
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Jeff H. Downtown, South Cove |
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#15 |
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Join Date: May 2012
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Re: Big Dig/Central Artery Redesign
Recreation of the technique used to attach the rivets was a bit over the top. The steel trusses and girders weren't the distinct features. The stone and iron work were the important parts architecturally. Yes, hindsight is 20/20, but hindsight is what this thread is about.
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#16 | |
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: South Cove
Posts: 2,668
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Re: Big Dig/Central Artery Redesign
Quote:
__________________
Jeff H. Downtown, South Cove |
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#17 |
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Join Date: Nov 2012
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Re: Big Dig/Central Artery Redesign
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#18 |
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Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 369
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Re: Big Dig/Central Artery Redesign
Yep. if cheap is your pal they could of just done a demolition of the whole thing, fished the pieces out of the river, and let a for-profit ferry company fill the void between Cambridge and Kendall. That would have saved taxpayers tons and then they could have just given everyone a rebate on their state taxes for the savings. People in Western Mass would have loved the fact that this would have been one less bridge they have to pay for and yet never travel over.
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#19 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 4,254
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Re: Big Dig/Central Artery Redesign
hadn't noticed this (being so poorly informed on Seattle in general).....
look familiar? http://grist.org/cities/seattles-unb...t-fustercluck/ |
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#20 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Boston
Posts: 1,179
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Re: Big Dig/Central Artery Redesign
I've been loosely following the Seattle project... That article was written in 2015 right about when the whole thing was in total disaster mode due to the boring machine getting stuck. They have completed the actual boring work. Still a ton of work to do and it's not an ideal design and it's going to be incredibly over budget when it's done... but it seems likely it will get done. I agree with the conclusion that the tunnel may not actually accomplish much good and is going to absolutely wreck Seattle's budget.
Unrelated-ish: Seattle is beautiful. Totally worth a visit and it's probably my favorite west coast city. |
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big dig, urban planning |
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