How Boston’s Big Dig built our expectations of American infrastructure
Notes from America with Kai Wright
WNYC Studios
4.4 • 1.5K Ratings
🗓️ 20 November 2023
⏱️ 51 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Boston's Big Dig started as a vision for a large-scale highway tunnel system that became a cautionary tale about American infrastructure. Guest host Nancy Solomon speaks with Ian Coss, host of The Big Dig podcast from WGBH and PRX, which dives into the history behind some of the most notable infrastructure projects in the Greater Boston area leading up to The Big Dig, which became “a symbol of waste and corruption.”
Nancy and Ian talk through the notorious failures and unsung successes of the Big Dig, what we do with the lessons learned, and what it means for the future of our communities. Plus, we hear from people around the country about their experiences with massive infrastructure projects in their cities.
Tell us what you think. Instagram and X (Twitter): @noteswithkai. Email us at notes@wnyc.org. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or going to Instagram and clicking on the link in our bio.
“Notes from America” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. Tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on notesfromamerica.org.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | While people were still letting the wind blow them in various directions, men like Henry Ford were putting their faith in the gasoline engine. |
| 0:10.0 | The cars we drive have changed the life and face of our nation. |
| 0:13.6 | We all know that motor vehicle registration is hitting new peaks. |
| 0:17.6 | And we know too well that traffic jams are costing us time and money. |
| 0:22.0 | Clearly we must have more good roads. Highways were pushed |
| 0:25.3 | across the desert. They are an indispensable part of our American way of life. They also make a gruesome contribution to our American way of death. |
| 0:37.0 | Are we building cities for people or for automobiles? |
| 0:41.0 | Will the 21st century bring a new era of human freedom and mobility or simply |
| 0:45.8 | a world filled with autos and all that traffic? Oh, It's notes from America. I'm Nancy Solomon in Fricai Wright. |
| 1:15.0 | As we just heard, our country has seen an unprecedented amount of investment in infrastructure. |
| 1:21.0 | It started spiking after World War II and it's not just roads. |
| 1:25.5 | We built the Golden Gate Bridge, the Hoover Dam, and this one slays me. |
| 1:29.8 | The Empire State Building was constructed in 13 months. |
| 1:34.2 | And of course, there are the interstate highways. |
| 1:37.8 | Congress responded with the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, |
| 1:42.1 | providing the staggering sum of 51 billion dollars to be spent by the states on highway |
| 1:47.4 | construction by 1971. |
| 1:51.0 | The most talked about phase of the act is the interstate highway system, a 41,000 mile |
| 1:56.6 | network of our most important roads. This was a big win for the automobile industry |
| 2:02.4 | which had been lobbying for a centralized |
| 2:04.8 | highway system since the 1930s. In fact, General Motors designed what it would like and showed it |
| 2:12.4 | off with an exhibit at the 1939 World's Fair. Roads |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from WNYC Studios, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of WNYC Studios and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.