The Big Dig

“The Big Dig” is a documentary podcast about one of the most ambitious—and vexed—public works projects in American history, the building of two tunnels and a bridge in Boston. This massive project transformed downtown Boston and solved many access problems, but at a huge cost in money and reputation. The documentary has suggestions about improving such “megaprojects.”

GBH, Boston’s public broadcasting system, produced this nine-part series. Ian Cross is its host.

The “big ideas” for Urban Atlanta:

• We need megaprojects because cities have “megaproblems” that only large-scale solutions can address.
• To succeed, megaprojects need strong long-term leadership and competent day-to-day management. They may also need political allies and outside advocates because, inevitably, things will go wrong.
• To survive setbacks, megaprojects must have a vision—a description of how things will look and work when the project is completed—and a clearly articulated set of benefits that most people support. Two critical questions are “Why are we doing this?” and “Why is it worth the cost?”
• Not all megaprojects exceed their initial budgets, but many do. This is the nature of complex projects that stretch over years and even decades. For that reason, leaders must establish cost expectations carefully and explain honestly and clearly why costs have risen.
• The documentary reminds us of the important roles state governments could play in cities. Massachusetts officials led the Big Dig, which transformed Boston. Again and again the state stepped in to save this megaproject as it dealt with obstacles and setbacks. A similar leadership role for state government in Urban Atlanta—beyond building highways—would be welcome.