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http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=158x12993Manhole covers, grates scrutinized statewide
By Peter Reuell/Daily News Staff
GHS
Wed Aug 01, 2007, 12:26 AM EDT
Work crews will inspect every storm grate and manhole cover on state highways, state transportation officials said yesterday, following a series of incidents over a four-day period beginning last Friday involving loose grates and manhole covers.
On Friday, one man was seriously injured when a 250-pound storm grate flew into the air and smashed through his windshield as he drove on Rte. 128.
Days later, a Logan Express bus was damaged during the Monday morning commute on I-93 when a loose manhole cover became lodged in the vehicle's wheel well.
Only hours after that incident, and only yards away, two cars were damaged when they hit an open manhole, causing one to spin out, while the second had two blown tires.
More:
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/homepage/x1951940852Also (From the Libertarian {pot-smoking Republican} magazine 'Reason'):
Originally published in Public Works Financing
Addressing the "Big Dig Syndrome"
by Robert W. Poole, Jr.
Robert W. Poole Jr. is director of transportation studies and founder of the Reason Foundation. His email address is bobp@reason.org.
May 14, 2004 -- The transportation infrastructure industry has a major credibility problem. Its track record on mega-projects is terrible. The costs are often grossly under-estimated, and traffic is all too often over-estimated. A poster child for the problem is Boston ’s infamous Big Dig (Central Artery/Tunnel) project, originally pegged at $3 billion and now finally completed for nearly $15 billion. Many recent rail projects have similar, well-documented histories. It’s going to be harder and harder to get public and political support for much-needed mega-projects unless we can come up with better-performing delivery models.
That is the challenge taken up by Danish academic Bent Flyvbjerg and colleagues in Megaprojects and Risk (Cambridge University Press, 2003), which I highly recommend. They document the global nature of the problem, analyze its causes, and offer very useful ideas on doing better.
First, they cite studies showing that this is hardly a new problem, nor is it unique to a few countries. One of the most comprehensive studies ( Aalburg University ) covers 258 highway and rail projects ($90 billion worth) in 20 countries. Nearly all (90%) suffered cost overruns, with the average rail project costing 45% more than projected, the average highway project 20% more. Traffic forecasts were also far from accurate, with rail projects generating an average of 39% less traffic than forecast (though highway projects averaged a 9% under-estimate of traffic).
Flyvbjerg concludes that the “cost estimates used in public debates, media coverage, and decision-making for transport infrastructure are highly, systematically, and significantly deceptive. So are the cost-benefit analyses.” And most controversially, that this “cannot be explained by error and seem{s} to be best explained by strategic misrepresentation, namely lying.”
More:
http://www.rppi.org/bigdigsyndrome.shtmlAlso:
ARCHIVES
Critics: Reject possible Big Dig deal; They say contractor would be let off the hook
By TOM BENNER
Patriot Ledger State House Bureau
BOSTON - Questions are being raised about a possible deal to free top officials of the Big Dig’s prime contractor from any possible criminal charges in return for a payment of up to $1 billion.
Officially, there is no word from the state on what is being discussed with Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff to settle claims related to cost overruns and poor workmanship. The deal would free the Big Dig contractor from responsibility for known or future defects in the tunnel system under Boston.
The agreement under discussion also would release officials of the construction consortium - Bechtel Corp. and Parsons Brinckerhoff - from any possible criminal charges related to the ceiling collapse a year ago that killed Milena Del Valle, 39, of Boston.
While Attorney General Martha Coakley continues to negotiate the deal, with Gov. Deval Patrick’s support, longtime members of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Transportation say Bechtel should not be allowed to walk away with no civil and criminal liability.
More:
http://www.patriotledger.com/articles/2007/07/23/news/news03.txtAlso:
Sex, Drugs, and Our Crumbling Infrastructure
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-mcquaid/sex-drugs-and-our-crumb_b_58850.html
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