New Big Dig price tag: $14.8 billion
The Big Dig has a new price tag: $14.798 billion.
That's up from the long-standing bottom line of $14.625 billion, according to an agreement between the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, which oversees the massive highway project, and the state of Massachusetts.
The agreement was approved following a two-hour closed-door session Tuesday.
According to the agreement, both sides conceded that up to $210 million in additional money may be needed to complete the project.
Under the deal, the state agrees to come up with the $210 million as long as the Turnpike agrees to cover any further increases and hand over any money recovered from companies that worked on the project to the state's general fund.
That additional money could come from the sale or lease of property owned by the Turnpike or higher tolls.
The project, the costliest and most complex in U.S. history, replaced the aging aboveground Central Artery with a series of traffic tunnels.
It has been plagued by delays, leaks, falling debris, cost overruns and last year's fatal ceiling collapse that killed a Boston woman.
The initial price tag was $2.6 billion. (AP)
