7 ms·

Despite the criticisms, this is pretty awe-inspiring. I wish the US had big construction projects like this also.

josefresco 8y ago
You mean like the 'Big Dig'? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Dig https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Dig https://www.mass.gov/info-details/the-big-dig-facts-and-figures https://www.mass.gov/info-details/the-big-dig-facts-and-figu...
- jhpankow 8y ago
  Or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_High-Speed_Rail https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_High-Speed_Rail
  - schnevets 8y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Pontchartrain_Causeway https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Pontchartrain_Causeway is still the longest continuous bridge
- dsfyu404ed 8y ago
  Locals like to call it the "big handout." It was a boondoggle project that just showcased the fact that anyone whos connected can get a slice of the government spending pie. They should have just upgraded the central artery. There's a reason Boston is the goto example worldwide for why you don't put your highways underground.
  - Spooky23 8y ago
    Why? It seems to work pretty well compared to before. Boston in general is a traffic nightmare, so I’m not sure how to measure success/failure.
    - dsfyu404ed 8y ago
      >Why? It cost a ton more than any other way of delivering a similiar result. Operating costs are higher than a raised highway because it's underground. The only pro is that a bunch of rich progressives who don't actually live in Boston get to pat themselves on the back about how the old eyesore of a raised highway that "divides the city" (or some mumbo jumbo like that) is gone. That's not enough to be worth the price. It was a boondoggle. They should have just rebuilt the raised highway.
- jgroszko 8y ago
  Also the Chicago Deep Tunnel system is pretty massive "Phase 1, the creation of 109.4 miles (176.1 km) of drainage tunnels ranging from 9 to 33 feet (2.7 to 10.1 m) in diameter, up to 350 feet (110 m) underground, was adopted in 1972, commenced in 1975, and completed and operational by 2006." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunnel_and_Reservoir_Plan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunnel_and_Reservoir_Plan
WorldMaker 8y ago
The US still has some great engineering projects happening, we just don't have the political climate to celebrate them, and to some extent have simply grown used to them/stopped seeing the wonder in them. (A small, unusual benefit of being in a primarily civil engineering company is seeing a weekly email from a US manager celebrating all the cool projects around the world, but especially in the US, the company is contributing to.) The World's Fair still exists, but maybe it has been far too long since the US has hosted one outside of Epcot's attempt to be a permanent one. Generating some fresh "gee whiz, engineering" excitement seems like a good idea this decade.
- awiesenhofer 8y ago
  Care to share some interesting ones of these projects? Genuinely interested.
  - WorldMaker 8y ago
    I suppose the easiest stuff to share is what's highlighted on the company's website. (Obvious disclaimer: my opinions on this site are my own, not my employer's. I don't speak for my employer. I do think my employer is involved in a lot of really interesting projects.) Water projects are the closest to what I work on (though as a software developer my role is often indirect a bit from these projects), so ones I'm slightly more familiar with how much work and importance they have, simply from hearing coworkers talk about them (including the aforementioned manager's internal "Good News Friday" emails). Here are a few US Water project highlights from the company website: https://www.stantec.com/en/projects/united-states-projects/s/scioto-greenways-project-in-columbus-ohio1 https://www.stantec.com/en/projects/united-states-projects/s... https://www.stantec.com/en/projects/united-states-projects/p/permanent-canal-closures-and-pumps https://www.stantec.com/en/projects/united-states-projects/p... https://www.stantec.com/en/projects/united-states-projects/c/city-of-atlanta-water-supply-program https://www.stantec.com/en/projects/united-states-projects/c... There are interesting sidebar links to more detailed articles there, and more projects if you explore further. The company is HQed in Edmonton, Alberta so you will find for obvious reasons there are also a lot of Canadian projects highlighted.
shadowtree 8y ago
Basically need a dictatorship to pull this off. No environmental checks, no vetos or petitions. And, as correctly pointed out in another comment - building greenfield is one thing. Maintaining and expanding is a whole other ballgame. Just like refactoring a legacy code base which is in heavy production use.
- tonyedgecombe 8y ago
  Basically need a dictatorship to pull this off. Not really: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Øresund_Bridge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Øresund_Bridge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossrail https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossrail https://www.rt.com/business/353690-norway-underwater-floating-tunnels/ https://www.rt.com/business/353690-norway-underwater-floatin... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotthard_Base_Tunnel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotthard_Base_Tunnel
  - brohee 8y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millau_Viaduct https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millau_Viaduct
- erikpukinskis 8y ago
  This idea that authoritarianism is a good way to get things done.... I’m seeing it suggested more and more. Is it true? It makes sense on some level. But historically, is it actually true that dictators get more done?
  - shadowtree 8y ago
    Well, if you group monarchy into this, most of what we consider world wonders where created by those systems. Don't benefit the individuals, but make for spectacular tourist attractions. Great Wall, Pyramids, Cathedrals, ...
    - erikpukinskis 8y ago
      Isn’t something like a Toyota Corolla orders of magnitude more “wonder” than the pyramids? Cathedrals though... I do kind of see there might be orders more more skilled labor embodies there?
forapurpose 8y ago
> I wish the US had big construction projects like this also. Big construction projects have big bills to pay, for both construction and maintenance. Do you also want to pay the bills? I wish for construction projects that have big ROI. I prefer a small one to a big one if it produces the same value - just like in software.
ska 8y ago
I wish the US had big construction projects like this also. I wish the US was doing a better job of maintaining some of the infrastructure it's already built...

You mean like the 'Big Dig'? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Dig https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Dig https://www.mass.gov/info-details/the-big-dig-facts-and-figures https://www.mass.gov/info-details/the-big-dig-facts-and-figu...

jhpankow 8y ago
Or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_High-Speed_Rail https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_High-Speed_Rail
- schnevets 8y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Pontchartrain_Causeway https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Pontchartrain_Causeway is still the longest continuous bridge
dsfyu404ed 8y ago
Locals like to call it the "big handout." It was a boondoggle project that just showcased the fact that anyone whos connected can get a slice of the government spending pie. They should have just upgraded the central artery. There's a reason Boston is the goto example worldwide for why you don't put your highways underground.
- Spooky23 8y ago
  Why? It seems to work pretty well compared to before. Boston in general is a traffic nightmare, so I’m not sure how to measure success/failure.
  - dsfyu404ed 8y ago
    >Why? It cost a ton more than any other way of delivering a similiar result. Operating costs are higher than a raised highway because it's underground. The only pro is that a bunch of rich progressives who don't actually live in Boston get to pat themselves on the back about how the old eyesore of a raised highway that "divides the city" (or some mumbo jumbo like that) is gone. That's not enough to be worth the price. It was a boondoggle. They should have just rebuilt the raised highway.
jgroszko 8y ago
Also the Chicago Deep Tunnel system is pretty massive "Phase 1, the creation of 109.4 miles (176.1 km) of drainage tunnels ranging from 9 to 33 feet (2.7 to 10.1 m) in diameter, up to 350 feet (110 m) underground, was adopted in 1972, commenced in 1975, and completed and operational by 2006." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunnel_and_Reservoir_Plan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunnel_and_Reservoir_Plan

WorldMaker 8y ago

The US still has some great engineering projects happening, we just don't have the political climate to celebrate them, and to some extent have simply grown used to them/stopped seeing the wonder in them. (A small, unusual benefit of being in a primarily civil engineering company is seeing a weekly email from a US manager celebrating all the cool projects around the world, but especially in the US, the company is contributing to.) The World's Fair still exists, but maybe it has been far too long since the US has hosted one outside of Epcot's attempt to be a permanent one. Generating some fresh "gee whiz, engineering" excitement seems like a good idea this decade.

awiesenhofer 8y ago
Care to share some interesting ones of these projects? Genuinely interested.
- WorldMaker 8y ago
  I suppose the easiest stuff to share is what's highlighted on the company's website. (Obvious disclaimer: my opinions on this site are my own, not my employer's. I don't speak for my employer. I do think my employer is involved in a lot of really interesting projects.) Water projects are the closest to what I work on (though as a software developer my role is often indirect a bit from these projects), so ones I'm slightly more familiar with how much work and importance they have, simply from hearing coworkers talk about them (including the aforementioned manager's internal "Good News Friday" emails). Here are a few US Water project highlights from the company website: https://www.stantec.com/en/projects/united-states-projects/s/scioto-greenways-project-in-columbus-ohio1 https://www.stantec.com/en/projects/united-states-projects/s... https://www.stantec.com/en/projects/united-states-projects/p/permanent-canal-closures-and-pumps https://www.stantec.com/en/projects/united-states-projects/p... https://www.stantec.com/en/projects/united-states-projects/c/city-of-atlanta-water-supply-program https://www.stantec.com/en/projects/united-states-projects/c... There are interesting sidebar links to more detailed articles there, and more projects if you explore further. The company is HQed in Edmonton, Alberta so you will find for obvious reasons there are also a lot of Canadian projects highlighted.

shadowtree 8y ago

Basically need a dictatorship to pull this off. No environmental checks, no vetos or petitions. And, as correctly pointed out in another comment - building greenfield is one thing. Maintaining and expanding is a whole other ballgame. Just like refactoring a legacy code base which is in heavy production use.

tonyedgecombe 8y ago
Basically need a dictatorship to pull this off. Not really: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Øresund_Bridge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Øresund_Bridge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossrail https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossrail https://www.rt.com/business/353690-norway-underwater-floating-tunnels/ https://www.rt.com/business/353690-norway-underwater-floatin... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotthard_Base_Tunnel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotthard_Base_Tunnel
- brohee 8y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millau_Viaduct https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millau_Viaduct
erikpukinskis 8y ago
This idea that authoritarianism is a good way to get things done.... I’m seeing it suggested more and more. Is it true? It makes sense on some level. But historically, is it actually true that dictators get more done?
- shadowtree 8y ago
  Well, if you group monarchy into this, most of what we consider world wonders where created by those systems. Don't benefit the individuals, but make for spectacular tourist attractions. Great Wall, Pyramids, Cathedrals, ...
  - erikpukinskis 8y ago
    Isn’t something like a Toyota Corolla orders of magnitude more “wonder” than the pyramids? Cathedrals though... I do kind of see there might be orders more more skilled labor embodies there?

forapurpose 8y ago

> I wish the US had big construction projects like this also. Big construction projects have big bills to pay, for both construction and maintenance. Do you also want to pay the bills? I wish for construction projects that have big ROI. I prefer a small one to a big one if it produces the same value - just like in software.

ska 8y ago

I wish the US had big construction projects like this also. I wish the US was doing a better job of maintaining some of the infrastructure it's already built...