Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Boston's Big Dig Delayed Because of Programmers?

Posted by chrisd on from the twelve-billion-beautiful-dollars dept.

dalewj writes "This article in the Boston Globe explains that Boston's Big Dig will be ready to open on time, if the software developers and cable layers can get their act together." Turns out honeywell's software isn't quite ready.

5 of 250 comments (clear)

  1. Tolls by Tycho · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So how much will it cost to drive on the highways in Boston after the Big Dig is completed? And why did everyone else in the country have to pay for something that will potentially not be free to drive on?

    --
    Impersonating Tycho from Penny Arcade since before there was a PA.
  2. Re:Software holdups...? That's kinda silly. by Peyna · · Score: 4, Insightful

    That mindset is part of the problem. Most likely what happened was they needed something done a different way than originally planned, and since they assume software is the easiest to change, they put the burden on them to conform to everything. My guess is they tried to separate the software from the rest of the system and just assume the software would be easily able to change and keep up with everything else as needed, when instead they should have been developed together and treated as parts of a whole.

    --
    What?
  3. Re:The Big Dig by Frothy+Walrus · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Most of us up here in Boston just want the damn thing to end. It's getting there -- they've finished the bridge and lots of ventilation buildings, and they are starting to close up some of the massive holes they've dug.

    Mass transit in Boston is pretty good. you can go anywhere on the subway for $1, and the buses do a decent job of coverage too. The thing that sucks is that the subway turns into a pumpkin around 12:30am.

  4. Re:Why Should You Care? by daoine · · Score: 5, Insightful
    a decent chunk (>$13Bil) of FEDERAL tax dollars has gone to pay for the "Big Dig" boondoggle in Boston.

    That's likely due to the fact that the road involved is Interstate 93, which is grossly incapable of handling the current traffic loads through downtown Boston. The fact that it's an Interstate means that the Federal Government funds a portion of the construction.

  5. Regan the democrat.... by MosesJones · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Err that well known "Democratic Party" Candidate and President Ronald Regan signed up to the funding of the Big Dig, funding was continued by another Democratic leader called George Bush.

    See those things waving at you in the distance ? They are the Facts, wander over and see them some time.

    --
    An Eye for an Eye will make the whole world blind - Gandhi