Construction of the new highway system, however remarkable, has been financially and politically tumultuous. Those involved in planning the project's final restoration stage say lack of leadership has muddled efforts to forge a consensus. The personal enmity between Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and former Massachusetts Turnpike Authority chairman James Kerasiotes did not help, said several people who have worked on the project. Add to that the multiple entities charged with developing and implementing a master plan, from a mayoral Central Artery Completion task force and a turnpike authority steering committee to architects, business leaders and community advisory groups. The state Highway Department owns most of the open space, but who will operate and maintain the finished park hasn't been determined.
Funding is also in limbo.
Meanwhile, despite dozens of public meetings, no single theme or overarching vision for the entire area has emerged. Options are limited where ramps exit and enter, and where the new underground tunnel comes within four feet of the surface. But elsewhere, there's talk of everything from museums to orchards, and debates continue about whether space should fulfill the desires of residents or tourists, businesses or environmental groups. I'm not sure we've reconciled these points of view. What residents can expect to see today is less a detailed prescription for development than a guide to the final design, which is expected to get under way next year, said Karen Alschuler, a principal with the prime architecture and planning consultant, Simon Martin-Vegue Winkelstein Moris of San Francisco.