The grand dream of a comprehensive subway system for the Southland has proven to be nothing but a dream. The public and the construction industry is sick and tired of failed megaprojects. Virtually any project can be built if it is planned, funded and designed properly. The political game-playing and haggling that undermined the L.A. subway should be a warning. On the new projects, good relationships need to be established between the design, construction and owner teams with partnering and communication.
Accountability also needs to be set in place.
Officials of each jurisdiction need to understand that their small area is part of a larger plan and not a fiefdom. And taxpayers have to become part of the team as well, because they are paying the tab and are the ultimate beneficiaries of the projects. The L.A. subway fiasco can serve as a learning experience for a region used to building freeways. The few lines of the L.A. subway that exist are beautiful examples of what might have been if the best practices of the political and construction worlds had been applied more forcefully. No Nuclear Leadership T he long, wearisome conflict over spent nuclear fuel disposal betrays a total failure of leadership on the issue.