Dig Another Day

Since Jan. 18, thousands of Boston drivers have taken advantage of the latest blessing afforded them by the gargantuan public works project known as the Big Dig—a tunnel connecting Logan airport to the Massachusetts Turnpike. The three-and-a-half mile tunnel, which runs above an active subway and below Amtrak and commuter rail train lines, is an engineering feat for the history books. After 12 years and $6.5 billion, the tunnel officially completes Interstate Highway 90, which now reaches all the way across the country from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean.

The tunnel will undoubtedly provide relief for the city’s perennially congested traffic and be welcomed by countless Harvard students who make the trip between campus and the airport.

Any step forward in the Big Dig’s ultimate goal of replacing the elevated Central Artery highway with an underground road—beautifying Boston as it makes it safer—is one that we greet with enthusiasm. But the Big Dig is by no means over, and the successful closure of this phase in its plan should not obscure all that remains to be addressed.

It is regrettable that the Big Dig has dragged on so far beyond its original budget and schedule, and it is up to Governor Romney to make sure that the huge work ahead does not fall any farther behind. Furthermore, Romney must not let this tunnel fall by the wayside as the Dig continues. He must find and implement a system to raise revenue for the upkeep and maintenance of the tunnel. Without such a system, the roadway will fall into disrepair, and the admirable benefits of the tunnel will disappear.

This accomplishment also provides an opportunity to remind the Big Dig’s administrators of their promise to replace the elevated Central Artery with green space after the project is finished. As helpful as the Big Dig will be in easing traffic problems, the purpose of rejoining Boston’s waterfront and North End with the financial district should be seen as an equally vital goal, not a side effect.

As long as these considerations remain at the forefront of planners’ minds, the Big Dig can only help Boston. Harvard students who saved a few minutes of travel time returning from intersession can be thankful to the Massachusetts politicians and the legions of construction workers who are finally beginning to finish digging.