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Comment by blakesterz | Hacker News Reader

Interesting read. The cost in New York of $1.5 – $2.5B per mile is just amazing. They ask "What Can Be Done to Manage Underground Construction Cost?" and list a bunch of recommendations. The conclusion?

"If these recommendations are implemented, would the U.S. costs match the European tunneling project costs? Unlikely."

The reasons make sense, at least to me, someone who knows very little of this subject.

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Come on freaking Switzerland where the minimum wage is around 4000$ per month was able to construct the longest tunnels (one for each direction) in the world for 1/10 of this cost. Even in my small city they are building an extension to a train tunnel in the middle of the city 1.4km -> 150M$.

There is really a big problem here.

Not to nitpick. But there's technically no minimum wage in Switzerland.

That said. Some localities (notably Genève) introduced a minimum wage. Also, a lot of employees are covered by a collective employment contract, which usually stipulates a minimum wage.

What is true is that few employees make less than 4000 Francs a month (~ $4000).

And the "unlikely" is followed up with a couple sentences that are basically a polite way of saying "even if we do everything else right the cost of NYC union labor is just too damn high".

Well it is, because Europe is able to get their labor much cheaper, and those guys ain’t starving.

But that needs "socialism".

Those guys have socialized health care and government sponsored pensions.

I wonder if tunnel working is dangerous enough that the healthcare costs become extra significant.

Those healthcare costs would be covered from worker’s comp in the US (I am aware of the caveats here.)

Not sure, but I wouldn't be surprised if life and disability insurance through the tunnel workers union is extraordinarily expensive.

It's paid out of the taxes on wages of laborers like these engineers working on tunnel construction; when you estimate the expenses for building a tunnel, that's included in the list price - it's just that in USA invoice that line might be labeled "union-agreed benefits" and in Switzerland invoice the same thing might be labeled "government-mandated social security tax" which covers things like "government sponsored" (i.e. taxpayer-paid) pensions.

Of course that line item is massively larger in the US than in Switzerland because it has to line the pockets of union bosses, lawyers, negotiators, administrators, and health insurance companies.

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