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akintosomethingnew t1_iy67gwh wrote

Do a little "big dig". Drop 290 underground from the Worcester side of lake Quinsig through to Auburn. Build green spaces above with walkable / bikeable friendly small business shopping with mixed use restaurant / activity / artist spaces.

Edit. If possible : reopen the Blackstone canal from underground to add some visible water running through the city.

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HappyExperience9788 t1_iy6fo1t wrote

This is a good idea man dam you should be a project manager or developer with that type of idea.

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operator_1337 t1_iy6tptz wrote

That would be a nightmare to keep the tunnels from flooding, like a massive engineering feat, even bigger than the big dig. Worcester is half built into the side of a mountain, and the other half is in a flood zone at the bottom of that mountain, which is heavily controlled by canals, levees and a massive city wide storm water drainage system. ( I mean we have a whole section of Worcester called the canal district, and we are not near any major rivers or the ocean lol)

I mean if we get 2inches of rain in an hour, most of Worcester turns up flash flooded. Now think about being 12ft underground lol

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invalid404 t1_iy7dwy2 wrote

The big dig put tunnels under the ocean. I think they can manage to put a tunnel under Worcester. But it would be cost prohibitive.

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operator_1337 t1_iy80abr wrote

Oceans are a lot easier to manage than underground aquifers. The only time oceans become an issue is during storm surge. Boston also had more up to date levies and canals which helped make the big dig possible.

Your looking at a 100 billion dollar project if Worcester wanted to do that. Not to mention around hundreds of millions a year to maintain it into the future.

I'd rather we spend that money on public transportation, than try to fix the massive problem that is the personal automobile. We all don't need vehicles.

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Eve617 t1_iy8pads wrote

I was coming here to say this exact thing. Dropping 290 underground would be so beneficial for the city that is currently bisected by this road. It would open up the city, provide the space for buses, trains, bike lanes, leisure activities just like it did in Boston. Dropping route 93 underground in Boston made it into a world-class city connecting the waterfront to downtown.

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post_singularity t1_iy6l4rb wrote

It wouldn’t be little that’s a long stretch and would be just as big and costly as the actual big dig, one of the largest public works projects ever, yeah Worcester isn’t getting that kind of funding not to mention it would take 20 years and tie up Worcester with constant construction that entire time. Then it will leak and ceiling tiles will fall and kill people.

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UsernamesAreHard26 t1_iy938wl wrote

Wasn’t the Big Dig the most expensive highway project in the entire country and generally regarded as one of the most mismanaged projects in the state?

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