PARTNERSHIPS VITAL TO PROJECT'S SUCCESS

This article describes how project managers worked with city officials to increase coordination on the Big Dig mega-project in Boston. The project's guidelines set strict limits on the amount of disruption permitted as a result of work. Not one single resident has been displaced and only a handful of businesses had to move, and property values began to rise as soon as the project was underway. Boston's transportation commissioner from 1985 to 1993, who chaired the project's interagency committee, reports how different agencies worked out an agreement to formalize communication and lay out a dispute resolution process. In addition, money was dedicated to pay for staff to coordinate for different agencies so personnel weren't stretched thin. Investing in human capital in this way is crucial, the commissioner argues. An established, long-term coordinating group is also key to helping cities and regions tackle large infrastructure projects that are needed as structures built in the 1950s and 1960s come due for renovation or replacement.