Streetcar Project: H St. NE, Washington DC

The H St. NE corridor in Washington DC is one of those areas that seems to have changed every time you drive through it. It is going through a major revitalization effort, including a streetcar system that will provide a much needed transportation option. Currently, H St. NE resembles a war zone as the street has been ripped up all summer, with traffic squeaking by through concrete barricades. I've been following this project because I am excited to see the revitalization of my city and I am fascinated by mass transportation projects. While I am encouraged that there is some project documentation available, the DC Dept. of Transportation provides info such as project schedules, status reports and photos, there are two estimates missing that should make any PM recoil: total cost of the project and date of roll-out. Tracks have been purchased and are being laid ($13M+) , the street cars have been purchased ($25M), but critical decisions are yet to be made - like what power source will be used? There aren't a lot of options (overhead power lines are banned by Federal Law and in ground methods available are either costly or come fraught with risk because they are untested or unreliable designs). Other decisions that haven't been made are how and where the streetcars will turn around and where they will be housed and maintained. These are no minor decision points for a project well underway, and with on-again, off-again support. Needless to say, this project is behind schedule and has cost over runs to the tune of at least $860,000.

Proper project planning aside, this project leads me to one of my "favorite" PM conundrums. We are taught by classic PM principles that sunk costs are not a reason alone to continue with a project. Yet, once a project gets this far, and stakeholders this entrenched, it seems like the option to end the project is not an option at all, even though the end results will be many times more costly, troublesome and time consuming if the project were put out of its misery.

Soon, the tracks will be completed, and every minute the street cars sit idle costs the taxpayers money. I wonder if there is any predetermined point at which the city will terminate the project - or will this project go on and on despite any degree of schedule and budget slippage? I sincerely hope this project is successful. I am very much in favor of mass transportation and I think the H St. NE area is an exciting place to be and holds a lot promise. I just can't help but cringe from the PM sidelines.