Jun
14
Break on through to the other side
By
Despite controversy surrounding the plans for a station at 41st and 10th Ave., the 7 line extension is making fast progress along the West Side, and at the end of last week, amidst little fanfare, the tunnel boring machines hit a milestone. As the MTA posted on its website, the first of the TBMs has completed its 4661-foot journey to its receiving chamber 40 feet beneath street level at 42nd St. and just underneath the Port Authority Bus Terminal’s foundation. This spot is where the new tunnels for the 7 line will meet up with the preexisting tail tracks that now sit west of 7th Ave.
According to the MTA, the second TBM will reach this chamber in July, and the crews will then back the machines up to the launch box at 26th St. and 11th Ave. The massive equipment will be disassembled and lifted out of the future subway, and crews will begin finishing the tunnels before working on station entrances, platforms and support facilities. Thanks to cooperation between the MTA and Port Authority, some of the tunneling work initially projected to take 2-3 years was completed in 18 months, and the extension is still scheduled to enter revenue service in December 2013. Now if only we could see the station at 10th Ave. and 41 St. become a reality.
Photo of the TBM courtesy of New York City Transit.
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7 Responses to “Break on through to the other side”
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[...] and 34th St. to 41st St. west of 8th Ave. had broken through the tunnel wall. With the other TBM reaching its destination in mid-June, the boring for the 7 line extension is complete, and now the finishing work can [...]
In New York, stealing $3,000 of public money to pay for sex is a national disgrace, but stealing $3,000,000,000 to pay for subway cost overruns is normal and won’t prevent you from getting future contracts.
Bravo
The #7 extension gets two TBM’s and Second Ave. Subway gets only one? Now that the first SAS TBM is on its way, I’d like to see S3 (same contractor for both tunneling projects) move this TBM over to SAS and get a headstart on the second tunnel over there.
This, of course, assumes the tunnel diameters are the same (despite the different size cars), or the cutter-head could be changed.
Bloomberg’s corruption is astounding and it’s too bad voters won’t have another election to hold him accountable
Who says that he’s not going to run again?
He more or less officially gave it up after spending tens of millions against a bland candidate and winning 52-47. The post-election conventional wisdom is that Bloomberg’s high approval rate had scared more serious Democrats, but in reality voters were pissed, and a Quinn or a Weiner would have won.