Megaprojects blow through initial budget estimates on a regular basis, contends Michael Horodniceanu, president of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority Capital Construction Co., . That certainly has been the case with MTACC's East Side Access (ESA) rail project: Its cost estimate began at $4.3 billion in 2006; now, in 2014, the cost is pegged at $10.8 billion. The original 2019 completion date has been extended to 2023.
But how are these original budget and schedule estimates calculated in the first place?