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Types of Projects: A Rainbow of Green • 61

triangle would allow the largest cruise ships to dock. The interior of the
terminal would contain retail shops, restaurants, hotel, conference rooms,
and more. To give you some perspective on the project, it is like having
three supertankers rafted together.
It is easy to see the extent of the immediate environmental impact the
project would have. For some environmental activists, this type of develop-
ment is what Koen calls “scarless.” In other words, there is no real impact
to the earth as far as filling wetlands, digging foundations, or demolishing
existing buildings along the waterfront to make room for such a huge devel-
opment. To other environmental activists, it will mean disruption of the
natural flow of the life in the water surrounding the project. There would
be an increase in boat traffic carrying workers to and from the work site.
Anchoring mechanisms would have to be secured to the bottom of the sea.
There are both positive and negative environmental impacts depending on
your point of view. Either way, the project is green by direct impact.

going underground
Another infrastructure project that certainly wasn’t green focused, but
had significant impact to the environment is the Big Dig Project in Boston,
Massachusetts. The purpose of the Big Dig was to mitigate the traffic situ-
ation in downtown Boston. In 1959, the Central Artery was opened and
could comfortably carry about 75,000 vehicles a day. By the early 1990s, it
was carrying 200,000 vehicles a day, and by 2010, it was expected to be a
stop-and-go traffic jam for 16 hours a day. There was no doubt that a new
8
solution (a project) was needed.
The project had a two-pronged approach: (1) replace the six-lane elevated
highway with an 8- to 10-lane underground expressway directly beneath
the existing road, and (2) extend the Massachusetts Turnpike through a
tunnel beneath South Boston and Boston Harbor to Logan Airport. The
first link in the new connection, the Ted Williams Tunnel, was completed
under the harbor in 1995.
One can only imagine the environmental impact the project would have,
in both immediacy and significance. The southern end of the underground
highway was completely rebuilt on six levels, including two subterranean.
In South Boston, a mostly underground interchange carries traffic between
the Mass Pike and the developing Boston waterfront. Heavy equipment
was deployed throughout the project, adding to air quality issues; sedi-
ment protection from the digging needed to be put in place, to say nothing