The Big Dig: Reshaping an American City [Hardcover]

Peter Vanderwarker (Author)

Book Description

Grade Level: 4 and up

In Boston Harbor a barge maneuvers a huge floating section of a steel tunnel into place, then sets it gently onto the harbor floor. High above the Charles River workers place ten lanes of roadway on what will be the widest cable-stayed bridge in the world. Boston will never look the same. Since 1991 Boston has been the scene of the largest public construction project in American history. The Central Artery/Tunnel Project-the "Big Dig"-is the solution to problems that for decades have caused major headaches for people driving in and out of this major American city. Peter Vanderwarker takes us behind the scenes of this complex, awe-inspiring project. Informative text accompanied by remarkable photographs, illustrations, and maps explain these concepts and introduce us to some of the people who have worked on this project.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 5-8-The "Big Dig" is the largest and most complex (and some might add, disruptive) U.S. transportation reconstruction project to date. Officially known as the Central Artery/Tunnel Project, the "dig" began in 1991, with an estimated 14 billion dollar price tag and a 20-year time frame, as an effort to solve Boston's massive traffic problems. Separate chapters are devoted to the four major elements of the project: the staged construction of tunnels, bridges and viaducts, aboveground highways, and surface roads and rights-of-way. These nuts-and-bolts descriptions are framed by an informative introduction with pertinent Boston history and a Central Artery timeline and a concluding essay on the relationship between urban infrastructure and quality of life. Vibrant, full-color photographs appear throughout and numerous maps and diagrams are carefully deployed to further enhance understanding of the text. A glossary of 15 construction terms highlighted in the text is somewhat superfluous. Vanderwarker succeeds in reducing a highly complex endeavor to comprehensible parts in a straightforward, lucid narrative. An impressive true-life tale of American ingenuity.

Mary Ann Carcich, Mattituck-Laurel Public Library, Mattituck, NY

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. In the 1950s, the city of Boston built an elevated highway right through the middle of downtown. In its zeal to solve one urban crisis, however, it created another by fracturing the neighborhoods. Now, thanks to the Big Dig, the country's largest public construction project, the city is stitching itself back together. The three-part project will replace the existing highway with a larger underground one, a third tunnel beneath Boston Harbor, and the world's widest cable-stayed bridge. Vandewarker takes readers from funding to planning to construction, including thorough descriptions of building techniques, as well as colorful photos, diagrams, and maps. He documents all the special challenges of the endeavor: tunneling beneath an active highway and railroad network, sinking concrete and steel channels with the aid of global positioning systems, and more. Sidebars throughout the book help humanize this large-scale feat by introducing a few of the men and women--from urban planners and archaeologists to ironworkers--who are contributing to the renovation. A glossary is appended. Randy Meyer
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 56 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers (September 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316605980
• ISBN-13: 978-0316605984
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 9.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #860,667 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #43 in Books > Children's Books > History > Modern

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bought it for a kid; kept it for myself, October 9, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Big Dig: Reshaping an American City (Hardcover)

Living in Boston, you are constantly affected by Big Dig-related twists, turns, and upsets. One day the one-way street heads east; the next it has been re-routed west. Few of us venture into the heart of this truly amazing engineering feat, but this book shows us why we should pay more attention. Vanderwarker's spectacular photographs are thrilling to see and they give a glimpse of just why so much money has been poured into this project. We get to see things only the workers would normally see. But perhaps best of all is the glimpse it gives of cutting-edge engineering and technology. Seldom have I seen so clearly how yesterday's sci-fi has become today's "sci" and tomorrow's business as usual.

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Interesting, May 11, 2011

By 

D. Edwards "reader extra-ordinataire!" (Colton, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Big Dig: Reshaping an American City (Hardcover)

My children and I enjoyed reading this book before our trip to Boston, as I'd been there before the Big Dig! The book was easy to understand and showed some of the obstacles to this endeavor. My children love engineering and they found this fascinating!

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vanderwalker King of The Big Dig, November 10, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Big Dig: Reshaping an American City (Hardcover)

This book is so much fun to read. The photography is wonderful. Vanderwalker has such a good "eye" for beauty, even in construction.

A must buy for the kids at Christmas