I arrived in Boston two days after part of the ceiling of the new tunnel 
leading from the airport into the city collapsed, killing a woman in her car. The long, long construction of this tunnel was called the Big Dig. It cost $15 million billion dollars [thanks you guys! I didn't believe it when I heard the figure], and the ugly construction site snarled central Boston traffic for about ten years.
As I drove out of the rental car site, the guy at the gate checked my French driver's license. He had an unusual name; maybe it was African, but he was American. "You live over there?" he said.
"Yes, in Paris," I said.
"So, which do you like better, France or the United States?" he said. Only Americans ask this question. And there is only on correct answer, of course. But this guy really seemed to want to know.
"There are wonderful things about both of them," I said. "But of course this is my own country."
He waved me off. I stopped by the side of the road to program my destination into the GPS. It led me straight to the Big Dig, where a huge traffic jam was building up. I was amazed that the tunnel was still open after the accident, and as if to confirm me in my worry, I turned the radio on to hear an announcer's tirade against the incompetence and corruption of the Big Dig politicians, builders and workers. I did a U-turn along with dozens of other cars, and headed out through Chelsea. I used to live in Boston and have fond and not-so-fond memories of it. It is a city with a big personality.
You can tell you're in Massachusetts New England [note later: actually Rhode Island!]. One of the first things that hit me on my way out of town was this large billboard:
You're off on the cost of the 'Big Dig' by a factor of 1,000. It cost (so far) is $15 Billion, with a 'B'.
Not all of the money went into the ground. Boston is one of those US cities (San Francisco is another) which arrange to have a never-ending serial procession of massive infrastructure projects with surprisingly large costs per mile of bridge, tunnel, railway track or freeway. In each place the local political machine is feeding off the local corruption machine, which is in turn fed by the local chain of construction scams.
Much of this will be familiar to residents of, to name just one transatlantic example, Nice.
Posted by: ZF | 13 July 2006 at 19:41
We wish it had only cost $15 million dollars, but it was billions of dollars.
Posted by: Andrea | 13 July 2006 at 19:58
I think that's 15 billion.
Posted by: zuleme | 14 July 2006 at 03:14
Latest word in the news is that the projected problem areas in the tunnel is now QUADRUPLED to about 240-ish instead of 60.
What a nightmare. And how horrible it took a woman's death to bring it to light. Boston is such a great place, it's a shame the citizens are in the middle of this Big Diggin' Mess.
Posted by: The Bold Soul | 14 July 2006 at 06:57
Quote: "So, which do you like better, France or the United States?" he said. Only Americans ask this question. And there is only on correct answer, of course.
Are you kidding me? Just about every single French person I've ever met has asked me that same question. And there's only one right answer for them too - as if it's utterly impossible that I would prefer my country of birth to LA FRANCE.
Posted by: samantha | 14 July 2006 at 13:06