CSC 200 Assignment: Cost Estimation for Unprecedented Projects
You will be assigned one of the following projects. Your job is to make
a defensible estimate of the total cost and construction time required
to complete the project. Some of the projects are of an unprecendented
scale, but all are feasible using current technology.
In choosing between construction options, look to minimize the cost
without of course sacrificing safety or effective functionality.
Write a report describing how you arrived at your estimate, what the
uncertainties are, and what sources of information you used.
One important starting point is the cost of smaller-scale projects
of the same sort. You will need to document or closely argue the
scaling laws however, since they are generally very non-linear.
On this project you are to work independently.
Next Tuesday, (Jan. 25) you will present and defend your estimates to the
class (3 minutes max). Also hand in your written report.
- Alternative to Rochester Fast Ferry I:
Sketch a design for and
make a defensible estimate of the cost of building a 4-lane bridge
across Lake Ontario (say from the end of Route 98 north of Hilton,
to Port Hope (in Ontario Canada). Note that no bridge of this scale
has ever been built, and that the depth of the lake is a significant
factor. Support structures (e.g. oil platforms) have been erected in water
deeper than you will encounter, so the technology exists.
Note you will need to do a little design work, trading off the cost of
long spans versus the cost of deep supports.
Note that a single span solution is far beyond the limits of existing
materials and engineering practices, so don't even go there.
Assignees: Michael He, Michael Rotondo, Andrew Ward.
- Alternative to Rochester Fast Ferry II:
Estimate the cost of a twin-track railroad tunnel under Lake Ontario
between approximately the same points as the bridge described above.
Note that you probably need to find out something about the geologic
structures under the lake in order to determine what sort of construction
and excavation is necessary. Tunneling machines work in certain sorts of
sediments, but not in granite. There are also options that involve
sinking and connecting pre-manufactured sections, eliminating tunneling
altogether. You would have to check if these are feasible at the depths
involved. The time estimate for this one is particularly important,
since it could be difficult (though not impossible) to parallelize
tunneling operations.
Assignees: Gershon Bialer, Gregory Rubin, Fan Yap.
- Twin towers replacement:
Estimate the cost of constructing a 1-mile high office building in
lower Manhattan. Note that this is approximately 4 times the
height of the tallest existing office building.
Designs for such structures actually exist. You may find some if
you look hard enough. You still need to carry out your own cost
analysis. The price on some such proposals I have seen seems suspect.
Assignees: Christopher Tice, Thomas O'Neill, Harry Glaser.
- Replication of the Great Pyramid at Giza:
Estimate the cost of duplicating the Great Pyramid in
Redmond Washington, using original materials, but modern construction
machinery where applicable.
Note that the sort of construction required is a bit different than
typical office tower construction, so you may need to think a little
bit about how the work would actually be accomplished.
Note also, that in this case, the materials (mostly limestone blocks)
and their transportation might be a significant proportion of the cost.
Assignees: Jonathon Pearson, Jivko Sinapov, Athul Acharya
- Construction of a 2000 foot tall statue of Elvis:
Esimate the cost of erecting, in Las Vegas, a 2000 foot
statue of Elvis using construction similar to the Statue of Liberty.
The edifice should allow for visitors to be married on top, and
maybe a honeymoon suite or two, but need not be primarily habitable space.
For this project, you may neglect the cost of royalties to the
Presley estate.
Assignees: David Walker, Thomas Thomas.
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