I believe Bill Bryson said it best when he wrote that "Boston's expressway system was clearly designed by people who enjoyed crashing toy trains as a child" or something along those lines
Yeah, but putting the Central Artery underground reduced air pollution, allowed people to access the waterfront from downtown,made it easier to get to the airport, and gave us the beautiful Rose Kennedy Greenway; and the trees and other green plants made the air even cleaner. Also, because the Big Dig coincided with the opening of the Deer Island sewage treatment plant which cleaned the harbor; it paved the way (no pun intended) for the development of many new attractions in and around the harbor: the Harbor Walk, the Seaport District, and the renovation of the harbor islands. Do you remember before the Big Dig? The air quality was terrible. Boston Harbor, once the most important harbor in America, was no longer active and the wharves had become parking lots. The water was filthy and become a cesspool. Today, thanks to the Big Dig and other concurrent projects; the harbor is once again active and has gone from being the filthiest harbor in America to one of the cleanest. So even though it was poorly planned and went over budget and went on too long, the Big Dig was successful in the end.
Oh yeah, looking up at all the skyscrapers surrounding you was def fun. Of course, part of the reason the view was so good is you tended not to be moving all that fast...;)
That original "Dewey Square Tunnel was modified slightly and incorporated into the new road. It carries all of the I-93 southbound traffic, C/D lanes southbound for exit-20 (I-90), and a northbound entrance ramp from Essex St. A new, deeper tunnel was built for northbound I-93 traffic through the area. Though now more than fifty years old, the original tunnel was much better constructed; it is smoother and in better condition than any of the new tunnels which are already quickly deteriorating.
the big dig, despite the negative tropes recycling below, was a huge success at two things. first, it absorbs far higher levels of traffic and distributes it extremely well in most (not all) places. the all day traffic jams of the central artery are gone. second, it instantly jolted new england out of a precursor to the 2008 crash caused by the S&L crisis because of the overly large impact of Comfed, which failed spectacularly. Now there are some failures...the Leverett Connector being one of them, and a bottleneck both inbound and outbound at the southern end of the dig. But Boston, whose economy was stalled in the late 80's, has been on a rocket ride since the dig began. Money well spent....and we should do this in many other places.
How about coming up the Storrow Drive Exit Ramp, past the Boston Garden to get on 93 North? If you were going to the Tobin Bridge you then had to cross 3 lanes of traffic in order to get to the Tobin Exit ramp. Try that in rush hour traffic....!
The new tunnel got rid of most of this contrary to what many people say. Going through Boston is a breeze now compared to this nightmare. 15 billion well spent!
I grew up as a kid going down the old expressway and I sure do miss it. Although I probably wouldn't be saying that had I had my license during those times.
It was well-intentioned and there have been some (much needed and long awaited) improvements in flow. Remember the 3-ton ceiling tile that fell in Fort Point Channel that crushed a woman in a car? The cost of that type of progress should never be that high.
i thought it was up in the air about 30 feet though? it looked like its down in a canyon to me there?? I just took my first ever trip to boston and had a GREAT time. you should be very proud of your beautiful city.
A lot of it was elevated--it was designed to be completely elevated, but as they were constructing the northern segments and building southward, so much disruption was made to the neighborhoods surrounding the highway that they built the southern part of it (the Dewey Square Tunnel) underground.
14 billion and they couldn't even build the tunnel in a straight line! I remember when I first got my license and my friends and I would drive like assholes through this stretch of road. You could see Faneuil Hall, now its all gardens and "surface road." Good times.
Wow ,, i rember this lil foot bridge heading south in to the s Station tunnel,, HAHAH,, MAss holes have the Most Pissah Road rage,, im so glad i live here
This is Boston traffic at its worst. Growing up as a child and now as adult. I'm glad they competed the big dig. A catastrophe was bound to happen had they kept the old artery.
Hi Peter, I'm making a documentary on the Big Dig and I was wondering if you'll let us use this footage in our film. Can you get in touch with me at kaylee.soh@britesparkfilms.com? Thanks!
I believe Bill Bryson said it best when he wrote that "Boston's expressway system was clearly designed by people who enjoyed crashing toy trains as a child" or something along those lines
It's exactly the same, only now its stuffed in a tunnel. Gotta love the guy yelling at the other guy to "pull ovah!" Love Boston.
Yeah, but putting the Central Artery underground reduced air pollution, allowed people to access the waterfront from downtown,made it easier to get to the airport, and gave us the beautiful Rose Kennedy Greenway; and the trees and other green plants made the air even cleaner. Also, because the Big Dig coincided with the opening of the Deer Island sewage treatment plant which cleaned the harbor; it paved the way (no pun intended) for the development of many new attractions in and around the harbor: the Harbor Walk, the Seaport District, and the renovation of the harbor islands. Do you remember before the Big Dig? The air quality was terrible. Boston Harbor, once the most important harbor in America, was no longer active and the wharves had become parking lots. The water was filthy and become a cesspool. Today, thanks to the Big Dig and other concurrent projects; the harbor is once again active and has gone from being the filthiest harbor in America to one of the cleanest. So even though it was poorly planned and went over budget and went on too long, the Big Dig was successful in the end.
i miss the old boston,,,,,,,,,,,sometimes.
Looks like typical rush hour on the Southbound side.
Love the edit, with the siren/fadeout!
Oh yeah, looking up at all the skyscrapers surrounding you was def fun. Of course, part of the reason the view was so good is you tended not to be moving all that fast...;)
That original "Dewey Square Tunnel was modified slightly and incorporated into the new road. It carries all of the I-93 southbound traffic, C/D lanes southbound for exit-20 (I-90), and a northbound entrance ramp from Essex St. A new, deeper tunnel was built for northbound I-93 traffic through the area. Though now more than fifty years old, the original tunnel was much better constructed; it is smoother and in better condition than any of the new tunnels which are already quickly deteriorating.
the big dig, despite the negative tropes recycling below, was a huge success at two things. first, it absorbs far higher levels of traffic and distributes it extremely well in most (not all) places. the all day traffic jams of the central artery are gone. second, it instantly jolted new england out of a precursor to the 2008 crash caused by the S&L crisis because of the overly large impact of Comfed, which failed spectacularly. Now there are some failures...the Leverett Connector being one of them, and a bottleneck both inbound and outbound at the southern end of the dig. But Boston, whose economy was stalled in the late 80's, has been on a rocket ride since the dig began. Money well spent....and we should do this in many other places.
The Southeast Expressway needs to be placed underground now.... And the South Bay Interchange untangled somewhat.....
Wow traffic literally same as today but at least it gave us space to build parks and grow trees
Still takes over an hour to get from Roxbury to Medford on any given weekday.
In a car.
How about coming up the Storrow Drive Exit Ramp, past the Boston Garden to get on 93 North? If you were going to the Tobin Bridge you then had to cross 3 lanes of traffic in order to get to the Tobin Exit ramp. Try that in rush hour traffic....!
is it bad that I'm the weirdest person on earth cos I'm not like anyone else cos i enjoy traffic jams but love to redesign highways to improve traffic
1950's freeway building at it's finest!
yup. Leverett Circle was choas when the light turned green... oh wait, it still is :P
Yes it is!!
The new tunnel got rid of most of this contrary to what many people say. Going through Boston is a breeze now compared to this nightmare. 15 billion well spent!
Not anymore! 😅
Not anymore!!!!!
I was 11 years old in 1996. So many memories. Good and bad. I always remember that building at 0:19. Life felt different at that time.
They demolished it? What’s in its place now?
I grew up as a kid going down the old expressway and I sure do miss it. Although I probably wouldn't be saying that had I had my license during those times.
It was well-intentioned and there have been some (much needed and long awaited) improvements in flow.
Remember the 3-ton ceiling tile that fell in Fort Point Channel that crushed a woman in a car?
The cost of that type of progress should never be that high.
Memories are memories it's about personnal feelings not about opinions or ideas of the masses.
I like how this is from 1996.
i thought it was up in the air about 30 feet though? it looked like its down in a canyon to me there?? I just took my first ever trip to boston and had a GREAT time. you should be very proud of your beautiful city.
A lot of it was elevated--it was designed to be completely elevated, but as they were constructing the northern segments and building southward, so much disruption was made to the neighborhoods surrounding the highway that they built the southern part of it (the Dewey Square Tunnel) underground.
The best highway engineering Robert Moses could buy!
14 billion and they couldn't even build the tunnel in a straight line! I remember when I first got my license and my friends and I would drive like assholes through this stretch of road. You could see Faneuil Hall, now its all gardens and "surface road." Good times.
The tunnel follows the same path that the old Central Artery did, which is why it's curved.
What's nostalgic about bumper - to - bumper highway travel?
It didn't really solve the traffic issues, but it did make the city far better in other ways
downtown, 'plows' isn't a word typically used during rush hour. more like digging with a teaspoon ;)
Im having flash back of the morning news saying "Central artery" every 20 mins
The driving in Boston is still a disaster and always will be.
Take the T
50 years from now people will still complain.
@@nathanventura548 The T is an entirely different (but also similar) story...
What time of day was this video taken? the afternoon?
Memories!
Boston looks way different now. You can actually walk there
Wow ,, i rember this lil foot bridge heading south in to the s Station tunnel,, HAHAH,, MAss holes have the Most Pissah Road rage,, im so glad i live here
Yep... a lot of railway lines closed when this opened, as they would not be needed anymore with the new modern superhighways
@PKingman I second that!
This is Boston traffic at its worst. Growing up as a child and now as adult. I'm glad they competed the big dig. A catastrophe was bound to happen had they kept the old artery.
Hi Peter, I'm making a documentary on the Big Dig and I was wondering if you'll let us use this footage in our film. Can you get in touch with me at kaylee.soh@britesparkfilms.com? Thanks!
what was that guy saying?
Justin Ricci he needs jumper cables.
nice
Grand theft auto Boston
looks like something you'd see in china lol