The Big Dig experienced two great shufflings of the leadership deck. The first was in 1990, when Fred Salvucci stepped down. The second was in 2000, when Jim Kerasiotes stepped down. But this time, there was no heir apparent to take up the mantle and lead the project forward.
Instead, there was chaos.
This episode is about a power struggle that played out at the highest level of state politics, over who had ultimate authority over the Big Dig. That might sound like a simple question. Isn't it the governor? Or the secretary of transportation? Or Bechtel-Parsons? Federal Highway? The DPW?
The answer is no.
True power over the Big Dig laid in a shadowy corner of state government that was only barely part of the government at all: the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.
This is the seventh in a nine-part podcast series about history and politics of the Big Dig – one of the most notoriously troubled infrastructure projects in American history. It was created as an audio experience. This presentation includes archival images.
Episode 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQ9wEUKs4U4&t=2083s
Episode 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQCF9HCPEqk&t=170s
Episode 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JozE24SyPm4&t=2625s
Episode 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqHo87HMU0U&t=1738s
Episode 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKaNh5svLts
Episode 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxYPxhFUv4c
Episode 8: https://youtu.be/1wB05hLtGMk
Episode 9: https://youtu.be/Tp3eB4yrSwk
You can find more about The Big Dig podcast at https://www.wgbh.org/podcasts/the-big...
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We can’t do it without you. Support our award-winning community journalism by donating today: https://bit.ly/SupportGBHNewsThis is the fifth in a nine-part podcast series about history and politics of the Big Dig – one of the most notoriously troubled infrastructure projects in American history. It was created as an audio experience. This presentation includes archival images.