Jul 17, 2008 4:27 pm US/Eastern
Report: Big Dig Cost Explodes To $22 Billion
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
The $15 billion Big Dig highway project, already the most expensive highway project in U.S. history, will cost Massachusetts another $7 billion in interest before it is paid off in 2038, according to an analysis of state financial documents.
The Boston Globe reported Thursday that a review of thousands of pages of state documents showed that the massive cost of the project has had a ripple effect on state finances, with the state making $600 million or more a year in payments and diverting funds away from needed repairs to roads and bridges.
Nearly 75 percent of the cost of the Big Dig was paid by Massachusetts.
Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Association, said the state faces some tough fiscal choices as it struggles to pay off the debt and keep up with much-needed maintenance and repairs.
"All of the money that we invested in one project -- whatever the value of the project -- has had very serious consequences on the state's inability to undertake all sorts of critical highway and bridge projects across the state," said Widmer, who reviewed the raw financial data and confirmed the size of the Big Dig debt.
"It's one of the major reasons why we're seeing such an obvious decline in our transportation infrastructure," he said. "Everything is falling apart in terms of roads, bridges, mass transit, the Mass. Turnpike."
Massachusetts spends 38 percent of its highway budget on debt, more than any other state. The state also pays almost 80 percent of its highway workers with borrowed money, the Globe reported.
Widmer said the state will be forced to either add "user fees" on certain highways or raise the state's gas tax, both politically unpopular alternatives.
"We can't print Monopoly money, so you either have to decide you're going to invest in your (transportation) infrastructure or you're not," he said. "The only alternative is to let our roads and bridges continue to fall apart."
According to a WBZ exclusive Survey USA Fast Track poll, 58 percent of Massachusetts residents said they oppose increasing tolls on the Mass Pike to help pay for Big Dig debt and repairs on other state roads and bridges.
Meanwhile, 80 percent of Massachusetts residents said the $22 billion cost of the Big Dig Project was not worth it.
Read the full results from the Fast Track poll
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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