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"These days, it’s easy to make subway systems because we have amazing tunneling machines..." -spits out coffee comically- I suppose compared to 1905 it's easi

"These days, it’s easy to make subway systems because we have amazing tunneling machines..." -spits out coffee comically- I suppose compared to 1905 it's easier, but it's still not "easy." Tunneling never goes off without some kind of hitch, and almost always goes over budget or off-schedule. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Dig https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Dig https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaskan_Way_Viaduct_replacement_tunnel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaskan_Way_Viaduct_replacemen... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Avenue_Subway https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Avenue_Subway I agree with the general thrust of the piece though.

x0x0 8y ago
Nah, the super expensive and always goes way over budget are features of subways only when Americans make them, unfortunately. That's not to say no one else has construction projects that go over budget, but the rest of the world -- more developed countries and less developed countries alike -- all manage to build infra for way less money, and much closer to budget. If we want nice things -- like trains that work! -- we have to figure this out. see, for example, https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2018/01/why-its-so-expensive-to-build-urban-rail-in-the-us/551408/ https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2018/01/why-its-so-ex... and https://pedestrianobservations.com/2018/01/27/construction-costs-metro-stations/ https://pedestrianobservations.com/2018/01/27/construction-c...
- rdiddly 8y ago
  You're generally right and I'm not trying to be a pain in the ass, but the one example I thought of belatedly AFTER hitting "Add Comment" on the above, just happened to be this... in a country that mostly seems to have its shit much more together than the US, too: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_Archive_of_the_City_of_Cologne#Collapse_of_the_archive_in_2009 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_Archive_of_the_City...

x0x0 8y ago

Nah, the super expensive and always goes way over budget are features of subways only when Americans make them, unfortunately. That's not to say no one else has construction projects that go over budget, but the rest of the world -- more developed countries and less developed countries alike -- all manage to build infra for way less money, and much closer to budget. If we want nice things -- like trains that work! -- we have to figure this out. see, for example, https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2018/01/why-its-so-expensive-to-build-urban-rail-in-the-us/551408/ https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2018/01/why-its-so-ex... and https://pedestrianobservations.com/2018/01/27/construction-costs-metro-stations/ https://pedestrianobservations.com/2018/01/27/construction-c...

rdiddly 8y ago
You're generally right and I'm not trying to be a pain in the ass, but the one example I thought of belatedly AFTER hitting "Add Comment" on the above, just happened to be this... in a country that mostly seems to have its shit much more together than the US, too: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_Archive_of_the_City_of_Cologne#Collapse_of_the_archive_in_2009 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_Archive_of_the_City...