Re: T construction news
The T could cut me a check for $100,000 and myself and my three friends could design and build it in two months. Its fucking a few dump trucks of concrete. Scratch the asenine maintence headache-horrible for our climate-cantelevered slab half roof thing for an actual shelter and it would be cheaper as well.
I'm getting seriously tired of the T coming up this these utterly disfunctional trendy looking station designs that not only are horrendously over budget but also mantence headhaces, look terrible after a single winter, and don't offer dick for protection from the elements.
It's a little more than that..
1. Gotta keep the old station open, its also a small yard too so that has to stay open. (i.e. "Project Management & Sequencing")
2. I'm sure the current track configuration doesn't allow for a cross over before what would be the new station, so that needs to be done. (basically a new crossover track needs to be added)
3. Abutters will complain about noise, so you can only work during the daytime.
4. Add in extras like electrical (gotta dig up the street for that to install conduit for electrical where there isn't one), drain/sewer (again, not already there, so its gotta be added)
5. Curb Appeal. Once the new station is done, gotta fix all the curbs surrounding the new station plus new crosswalks, ADA Compliant ramps,. etc etc. (It's been a couple of years since I've been to BC Station so I'm not sure how the street-scape looks these days)
6. I'm sure there's some extras thrown in there like repaving of Comm Ave (around that area), demo of the old station, reconfiguration of the yard, street lights (signals), etc etc etc.
It adds up after a while.
As far as the station design, the T is right on par with station design (new stations) with what's 'hip' today. Look at any recent Light Rail construction and you'll see the stops are pretty much the same. The T is just following industry standards (as they should!)
Now down to the real question, why do construction projects cost so much in the US?
1. Greed. Yep, I think Contractors and Construction Companies see Goverment Project and see a cash machine and inflate prices.
But that's not the only reason.
2. Design. It's not as simple as laying down track and buying up some ROW's. See my list above. It adds up.
3. ADA Compliance. This can add alot to a cost of a project. Elevators aren't cheap, and no longer can transportation have narrow spaces or 'cut corners' to squeeze more station in (or an staircase or something), everything needs to meet and/or exceed ADA complaince
4. YIMBY/NIMBY effects. Many transit projects skyrocket in cost because of Y/N effects. People want certian things (i.e. an extra entrace here, escalator there, sound barrier here).. it adds up. Add some delays in construction.. either in station redesign, or noise mitigation, or general mitigation.. people need to paid for each delay. It adds up.
5. EPA Regulations. Yup, this adds to cost. Look at this highway project in San Antonio Texas for example. Its an entirely new interchange that will need to be torn down and re-designed before it opened. Why? Because they found an endangered spider living a cavern below one of the new on-ramps. Now they can't use the interchange, and since the spider cannot be moved, the entire interchange needs to be re-designed and re-constructed to take in consideration this spider.
6. Gov't Regulation. We all remember the Boeing-Vertrol LVR Cars on the Green Line. In the 70s, Gov't said the T and MUNI must team up and build cars meeting these specifications and be manufactured by this company. Guess what happened? These were the worst cars ever rolling down the green line. (and some of the most expensive.. AND as is, the T and SFMuni ended up having to sink millions in renovations to these cars in the early 80s just to keep them functional)
7. ROW Issues. Sometimes the Gov't needs to seize land or buy it. This can take years.. decades to complete. (i.e. Look at Fwy I-105 in LA for an example of how long this can take). Guess who really benefits? The Lawyers, The lawyers drive up costs trying to win these cases and dealing with appeals.
8. Construction "Unknowns" - This can cause the most cost overruns. Why? Because the minute you start digging in the ground you may find something that will affect construction (and or drastically change the way construction squences). A good example is a hidden gas main or water line under somewhere. OR Blasting that caused foundation cracking (as what happened in Porter and Davis Squares in the late 70s/early 80s).. gotta pay those too.
It just all adds up. Cha-Ching.
I'm sure I'm forgetting a few.. but I've had this conversation with folks before. As I said, its a little more than slapping down some track and ties and some cement blocks and call it a station.
This is what they WERE before they renovated the station, which wasn't too long ago. 