Boston's Big Dig Soil Transforms Spectacle Island into a Park
In the 1990s, Boston undertook the Central Artery/Tunnel Project, known as the Big Dig, which involved excavating over 16 million cubic yards of soil. A significant portion of this soil was transported to Spectacle Island, a former city dump in Boston Harbor, to aid in its environmental restoration. The island, once plagued by underground fires due to methane gas from buried waste, was transformed through a process called capping. This involved covering the dump with layers of clay and topsoil, reshaping the island's landscape. Over 15 years, more than 2,400 trees and 26,000 shrubs were planted, restoring the island's natural ecosystem and attracting diverse wildlife. 
