The Big Dig

The Big Dig was a very expensive (ultimately $22 billion) federally-funded construction project that involved moving most of Boston's major traffic arteries underground.  This project had been in the works since the late 1950's, and actual construction lasted from 1991 to 2006.  Ever since its completion, the new road system has seemingly been plagued with problems and unseen consequences.  Apparently, a lot of the work completed and materials used in the construction were substandard.  Shortly after its opening, many of the tunnels showed signs of dangerous leaks, which were apparently due to pouring concrete before properly cleaning the area of gravel and other debris, leaving holes for water to migrate.  Also, shortly after its opening, a 3-ton concrete ceiling panel fell from one of the tunnel ceilings, crushing a car and killing one of the passengers.  This was due to workers using an epoxy designed for temporary use as a permanent bonding agent for the ceiling panels.  It was also discovered that much of the concrete used was sub-par itself.  Many of these aspects have caused lawsuits to erupt between the state and the contractors used for the project, as well as a major lawsuit between the family of the woman that was killed and the epoxy manufacturer.  As an unseen consequence, apparently even though the traffic situation within the city has been improved, it has begun to cause backups in other areas further out as people are trying to access the tunnels.  Overall, it just seems that this project was insanely expensive, and didn't really create very good results.  Maybe if better methods of construction and better materials were used, this project would have turned out better.