SHOULD HAVE JUST BANNED CARS IN BOSTON INSTEAD:

Big Dig costs may rise by millions: US memo says total could reach $14.7b (Raphael Lewis, December 24, 2005, Boston Globe)

The US Department of Transportation's inspector general has drafted an internal memo that says the Big Dig's cost may rise by tens of millions of dollars, according to state, industry, and federal officials.

One of the officials pegged the estimated increase at $75 million. If the estimate proves accurate, the project would cost $14.7 billion instead of the current $14.625 billion, an increase that Massachusetts taxpayers or tollpayers would have to absorb, because the federal government has capped its contribution to the controversial megaproject.

A spokesman for the inspector general's office emphasized that the document is a draft and may change.