“This has to be the most outrageous cost...”
Mayhap, if there are enough cost-overruns and delays, the price of this project will exceed Massachusetts’ big dig.
Naahhhhhhhhh....
Please don’t parse my post. I did say “most outrageous cost for light rail” after all, even though it’s supposed to be elevated light rail (still outrageous; only heavy rail beats it, e.g. New York’s Second Avenue Subway and San Francisco BART’s planned extension to San Jose).
I agree that the Big Dig is unbeatable just as a standalone project (original estimate $6.7 billion in 2012 dollars, from $2.8 billion in 1982 dollars, that being way over $22 billion or over $6 billion per mile), but when it comes to rail projects in deep tunnels, the now-canceled “Access To The Region’s Core” project was a contender (last estimate $7.8 billion or close to $4 billion per mile) and Amtrak’s new Gateway Tunnel proposal is even closer (current estimate in the $11 billion range).