White House Big Dig
The White House Big Dig was the name used in press reports to describe a multi-year construction project at the White House that began in September 2010 and temporarily concluded in 2012, with a second phase planned for the future. According to the General Services Administration (GSA), the $376-million project, which involved a multi-story excavation adjacent to the West Wing, was to replace electrical wiring and update air conditioning. A second phase of the project, with an unannounced start date, will involve a similar excavation adjacent to the East Wing. Funds for the White House Big Dig were allocated by a congressional appropriation made in late 2001.[1][2]
Despite the utilitarian description of its purpose, the project came to be the object of intense media speculation. The Washington Post characterized the GSA description of the project as a "nothing to see here story" while The New York Times, citing an anonymous source, claimed it was "security-related construction."[3][4] The Associated Press reported that a privacy screen was placed around the construction site for its duration and sub-contractors on the project were required to cover identifying marks or logos on their company vehicles, measures it implied were unusual.[2] ABC News, meanwhile, equated the construction project as a "mystery" on-par with "what happened to the dinosaurs". In a story set to the theme song from the science fiction television program The X-Files, reporter John Berman sarcastically commented "maybe it is a bunch of pipes and wires ... just like Area 51".[5] In a story reporting on the construction, British tabloid the Daily Mail wondered if the dig was for a "secret lair".[6]
In 2013, RealClearPolitics reported that a "clone" of the Oval Office would be built in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, as the Oval Office would be unusable during the second phase of the White House Big Dig.[7] White House press secretary Jay Carney subsequently rebutted that report as false.[8]
References
- ^ "White House 'Big Dig': West Wing entrance fenced off". The Washington Post. Associated Press. 4 April 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
- ^ a b Smith, Mark (12 September 2012). "White House Big Dig Remains A Mystery As Construction Wraps Up". Huffington Post. Associated Press. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
- ^ Storey, Will (17 October 2011). "Big Hole in White House Lawn Prompts Equally Big Questions". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
- ^ Davenport, Christian (27 November 2011). "In the Nation's Capital, Underground is Where it's At". The Washington Post. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
- ^ "Mysterious White House Hole". ABC News. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
- ^ "Is secret lair being built". Daily Mail. 4 April 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
- ^ Simendinger, Alex (1 February 2013). "2nd Oval Office Readied in White House Rehab Project". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
- ^ Boyer, Dane (6 February 2013). "Clone Oval Office Report Denied". Washington Times. Retrieved 25 January 2016.