Photo Courtesy of Metropolitan Transit Authority While projects face the perils of optimistic initial cost estimates, they can be "sold" to the public with honesty and outreach, says MTACC chief. Photo Courtesy of Metropolitan Transit Authority Related Links: Infrastructure Megaprojects: Looking For Legacies Investigators Eye Drill Holes, Decking After Dangerous Blast Meet the $17-Billion Man of the New York City-area MTA 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:
Related Links: Project Members Ponder Untold Stories of the Bay Bridge Boston Begins Reaping Benefits Of Big Dig In NYC, An Ambassador Gains Public Acceptance Of Megaprojects California High-Speed Rail Proponents Plow Forward Transportation's Next Chapter: Maintenance, Mobility, Money "If God went to a local community board meeting and presented a plan to build the Garden of Eden," says a wry Sam Schwartz, New York City Dept. of Transportation's former first deputy commissioner, "people would protest the location, the design and how they're going to treat the serpent."Is public suspicion justified? In his book "Megaprojects and Risk," Oxford professor Bent
Photo Courtesy of Nevada DOT NDOT bid out the first phase of the Boulder City bypass with the option to use asphalt or concrete. The latter was picked due to life-cycle costs. Related Links: Boosting Fuel Economy Where The Rubber Meets the Road Competition Can Help Our Roads Evolve Citing long-term life-cycle costs, officials at Nevada Dept. of Transportation have awarded the first phase of the planned Boulder City Bypass to a contractor that proposed paving the highway section with concrete, despite this proposal costing $3 million more than the lowest bid, which planned to use asphalt."We opted to use
Photo Courtesy of Caltrans Making the media wait for briefings did not ease tough scrutiny of the new bridge. Photo Courtesy of Caltrans Related Links: Infrastructure Megaprojects: Looking For Legacies Temporary Fix Will Allow San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge to Open on Time Bay Bridge Errors Put Caltrans Under Fire A lengthy delay mandated by the governor, a rebid and a fierce debate over the design of the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge were just the beginning. Over the course of the 11-year construction period came allegations, faulty rods, foundation questions and even an FBI investigation on the $6.4-billion crossing, which
Photo by AP Wide World A tragic death due to faulty tunnel panels in the I-90 tunnel is the fatal flaw in the Big Dig, which many say was ultimately worth it. Photo by AP Wide World Related Links: Infrastructure Megaprojects: Looking For Legacies Massachusetts DOT Agrees to Pay Contractor's Big Dig Claim After 15-Year Battle MassDOT Chief Jeffrey Mullan Leaving in Wake of Big Dig Safety Problems The Boston Central Artery/Tunnel project would seem to be a textbook case of a megaproject gone off the rails: Projected to cost $8 billion, the "Big Dig" ended up at $14.6 billion.
Image Courtesy of California High-Speed Rail Authority Although voters approved billions of dollars in bonds for high-speed rail, fierce foes still fight. Related Links: Infrastructure Megaprojects: Looking For Legacies Officials Cite Big Steps Forward In California High-Speed Program California Clears Path for Funding To Get High-Speed Rail Back on Track Jeff Morales, chief executive officer of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, often speaks of how the plan to build the Golden Gate Bridge produced 2,000 lawsuits and descriptions of "an upside-down rat trap."Recalling these facts "helps us to get through each day as people throw rocks at us," Morales told
Related Links: Feds Step Up Quest for Private Infrastructure Financing | International Consortium Selected to Build Mersey River Bridge Serving just 125,000 people, the U.K.'s Halton Borough Council (HBC) might seem an unlikely sponsor for a $900-million privately financed highway bridge. But construction is underway, with barge-mounted rigs installing cofferdams in the mudflats of the River Mersey for the cable-stayed Mersey Gateway crossing.To get here, the authority, 20 kilometers upstream of Liverpool, overcame government reluctance and the banking crisis. It deployed innovative financing tools and a novel tolling strategy to reduce revenue risk to itself and the public- private partnership
image Courtesy of I-4 Mobility Partners The Orlando P3 project includes complete reconstruction of 21 miles of I-4. Related Links: Skanska-Led P3 Team Wins Florida I-4 Job FDOT Officially Names Shortlisted Firms for I-4 Ultimate Project The Florida Dept. of Transportation last month approved the construction start of the $2.3-billion I-4 Ultimate project in Orlando, moving forward on its largest-ever public-private partnership and a surge of construction activity. During 2015 alone, the Skanska-led construction joint venture—known as SGL Constructors—will implement an estimated $500 million worth of engineering and construction work throughout the 21-mile-long project, says the contractor.The project's scope includes
Beverly A. Scott, general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, announced her resignation on Feb. 11 following criticism by Gov. Charlie Baker (R) of “T” transit performance that left thousands stranded during two system-wide shutdowns in a string of epic snow storms.Gov. Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito (R) said in a statement the same day, they were “surprised” to learn of Scott's resignation. She will stay on until April 11 while a search for a successor is conducted. ScottFrustrated by the second system-wide shutdown on Feb. 10 and with another storm brewing, Baker reportedly said that whatever
Photo by AP Wideworld Engineers had stamped the demolition plans for the Ohio overpass that collapsed Jan. 19 onto Interstate 75 in Cincinnati, says contractor Kokosing. Related Links: CEO Statement Engineering Oversight Might Have Prevented Ohio Overpass Collapse, Says Bridge Inspector The Ohio Dept. of Transportation had required an engineered demolition plan for the Hopple St. Ramp bridge that collapsed Jan. 19 onto Interstate 75 in Cincinnati, killing a worker, according to the contractor Kokosing.Kokosing released Feb. 6 documents detailing its engineer-stamped demolition plan, noting that it chose an alternative approach that reduced the weight of equipment and machinery loads
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