Central Artery/Tunnel Project

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Central Artery/Tunnel Project, a federally aided highway project in Boston, Massachusetts, focusing on the project's: (1) status; (2) estimated costs; and (3) financing plans. GAO noted that: (1) the project, which includes plans to build or reconstruct 7.5 miles of urban highways in Boston, is scheduled for completion by 2004; (2) the Massachusetts Department of Highways' (MHD) latest $8-billion project estimate excludes over $1 billion of costs that were previously considered as project costs, because MHD is seeking funding from other state and local agencies; (3) inflation, the risky nature of construction work, and MHD inability to achieve its aggressive goals for containing project costs could also increase project costs; and (4) MHD based its project finance plan on 1992 cost estimates and assumptions about the availability of state and federal funding.