Oof. Had a similar experience on the other side quite a few years ago. I had recently started a job where my new employer had been working with a contractor on their "next gen" web application for 4 years and it was nowhere near production ready.
To weeks into the new gig, I looked at my boss and expressed to him that it was a failed project and it needed to be canned. I got the "are you kidding me, we've already got millions tied up in this project."
Fast forward, 2 years went by and it's still not production ready. I was then asked to take over the project to help save it. I politely declined, knowing my limitations, to which I got the "this is limiting your career" speech.
Another year went by (7 years into the project) to which the contractor said they needed yet another year.
After hearing that news, I took on a skunkworks project that basically reimplemented the core of the project. After I demoed it, the contractor was canned a month later. 9 months later, the fresh project went to production for the phase 1 release.
To weeks into the new gig, I looked at my boss and expressed to him that it was a failed project and it needed to be canned. I got the "are you kidding me, we've already got millions tied up in this project."
Fast forward, 2 years went by and it's still not production ready. I was then asked to take over the project to help save it. I politely declined, knowing my limitations, to which I got the "this is limiting your career" speech.
Another year went by (7 years into the project) to which the contractor said they needed yet another year.
After hearing that news, I took on a skunkworks project that basically reimplemented the core of the project. After I demoed it, the contractor was canned a month later. 9 months later, the fresh project went to production for the phase 1 release.