The "Big Dig" Tragedy in Boston

There are few places you can go in the city of Boston where, if you sit still long enough, you will not hear the conversations around you veer toward the Big Dig project. The source of aggravation and consternation in the city for many years, now, the Big Dig is a favorite topic for Boston residents looking to vent about something. It provides a nearly endless supply of angst to commuters attempting to navigate an already tangled highway system, and has been clogging traffic and prompting detours since the work was begun in 1991. A fifteen year traffic jam can create a lot of anger.

On July 10, 2006, several tons of concrete fell from the ceiling of one of the Boston city tunnels. The massive slab landed on a traveling car, crushing a mother of three to death. Milena Del Valle was riding in the passenger seat of the vehicle driven by her husband when the construction accident occurred. He attempted vainly to pull her from the car, not realizing that she had been killed instantly.

The tragedy has sparked an odd mix of shock and resignation in Boston. Interchangeably, exclamations of "how could this happen?" and "I knew it, I just knew it," can be heard throughout the city. Newscasters and drive-time DJs have explosive new material for their Big Dig watching, and Boston politicians are doing some serious dancing.