In 1990 the new republican Governor, Bill Weld, put Jim Kerasiotes in charge of the Big Dig. Kerasiotes' reputation for cutting budgets and staff earned him the nickname "Hatchet Man." This episode is about how Kerasiotes struggled to contain costs and maintain control of the project all while an extraordinary feat of engineering successfully created a new tunnel underneath Boston's Fort Point Channel that would allow drivers to access the Ted Williams tunnel and Logan Airport.

You can hear more from Jim Kerasiotes in an interview with Ian Coss here: https://studio.youtube.com/video/HeWR...

This is the fifth in a nine-part podcast series about history and politics of the Big Dig – one of the most notoriously troubled infrastructure projects in American history. It was created as an audio experience. This presentation includes archival images.

Episode 1:    • The Big Dig began with activists who ...  
Episode 2:    • How two competing tunnel projects bec...  
Episode 3:    • How Boston's Big Dig survived Preside...  
Episode 4:    • Here's why Boston's beloved Zakim Bri...  

Episode 6:    • Here's how billions of dollars in cos...  
Episode 7:    • How a power struggle over a Massachus...  
Episode 8:    • Boston's Big Dig tunnels were nearly ...  
Episode 9:    • The Big Dig transformed Boston, so wh...  

You can find more about The Big Dig podcast at https://www.wgbh.org/podcasts/the-big...

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