

The Tunnels of NYC's East Side Access Project - kevin_morrill
http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2013/02/the-tunnels-of-nycs-east-side-access-project/100462/

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ajtaylor
If I were to ever leave the world of software, I would want to become a civil
engineer so I could design and build projects like these. The maze of tunnels,
access ways, pits, support piping and machinery amazes me every single time.

The freezing the ground technique was also used (pioneered?) on Boston's Big
Dig for the tunnel under the Amtrak train lines. They also changed the
supports for I-93 going through the North End, just like this project did,
though I think it was on a larger scale due to the use of the slurry walls
they first constructed.

The other massive works project that's been going on for decades in NYC is
water tunnel #3 [1]. It's been going since 1970 and is scheduled to finish in
2020. It will be the longest tunnel in the world at 60 miles (97 km) when it's
completed.

[1]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City_Water_Tunnel_No._...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City_Water_Tunnel_No._3)

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olegp
The ground freezing technique is 150 years old:
<http://www.burnsmcd.com/BenchMark/Article/Ground-Freezing>

I knew it was at least 30 years old since it was used in subway construction
in Moscow around the time I was born but didn't realize it was quite that old.

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ajtaylor
Huh, I had no idea! Everything I read about the Big Dig's use of it implied it
was new. Or maybe the idea just got stuck in my head. You learn something new
every day.

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Anechoic
Soil freezing wasn't new when it was used on the Big Dig, but it was either
the first time it was used in the USA, or it was the first time it was used on
such a massive scale in the USA (similar to the use of slurry walls, which had
been used in the USA, but not at that scale - in fact the Big Dig had to bring
over German & French equipment along with German/French workers to run the
slurry wall diggers since there was no one in the USA qualified to run the
machines).

One issue the Big Dig ran into with soil freezing was complications during the
thaw process. The soil was frozen to that the project could horizontally
"jack" precast tunnel pieces under existing Amtrak & MBTA railroad road
tracks. When the freezing and tunnel jacking process was completed, the
project let the soil "thaw", but the thawing takes _years_. During the thaw,
there were settlement problems that caused the tracks to sink a noticeable
amount. Nothing is ever as simple as it seems!

(worked on the Big Dig as a consultant from 1998-2001)

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ajtaylor
The extensive use of slurry walls was one of my favorite parts of the Big Dig.
I remember reading about all the European equipment and people who came over.
I have an awesome coffee table book about the Big Dig that was given to me by
friends who still live in the North End.

Two of the highlights of my time in Boston were the tunnel walk beginning at
the southern end of the I-93 table, and talking across the Zakim Bridge before
it opened up. I've got 8mm tapes somewhere of video I took on those days. Who
ever thought up that idea was a PR genius. :)

(BTW I'm jealous you got to work on the project)

~~~
Anechoic
_(BTW I'm jealous you got to work on the project)_

The great majority of my work was at night (nighttime noise patrols). Looking
back on it, I learned a lot about construction in general and the Big Dig in
particular, but at the time it was a pretty miserable experience. And Big Dig
workers did tell me about Bova's in the North End which helped passed the
time.

But I have stories. So many stories. However, none that I want to relate with
my name attached. :)

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ajtaylor
Ahh, Bova's! I lived about 3 blocks from there. They had the most amazing
pastries, plus these huge rectangular pizza(?) slices for cheap. If you walked
by in the wee hours of the morning, the smell of the bread baking was
intoxicating.

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adanto6840
This is really cool, I was unaware of it prior to this article. For those like
me who were hoping for more info about the project, the wikipedia entry is
pretty good:

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Side_Access>

Update: Just found _weekly_ photo status updates too -- wish all the larger
government projects did something like this!

<http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtacc-esa>

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jseliger
The Second Avenue subway is also under construction (finally!):
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Avenue_Subway> . It's been in various
planning stages since _1929_ , and its absence is keenly felt by those of us
living on the east side (in my case, First Avenue).

If you're just interested in big works, take a look at the Highway 99 project
in Seattle:
[http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2020537494_99tunnelpi...](http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2020537494_99tunnelpitxml.html)
.

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rayiner
I ride into grand central every morning to work and it never ceases to amaze
me. Dozens of platforms underground for departing and arriving trains, all
built 100 years ago under Manhattan. Coming down the Park Ave tunnel you can
glimpse the old 59 street station that's now just an emergency exit and its
all so damn cool.

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arethuza
The Gotthard Base Tunnel is also pretty impressive - under the Alps from
Switzerland to Italy, at 57km it'll be the long rail tunnel in the world:

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotthard_Base_Tunnel>

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subsystem
Whenever I see a US worksite I'm always surprised by the state of work wear.
Strapped on hobby lights, cotton based jeans and hoodies, insufficient
pockets, substandard florescents etc.

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Anechoic
Are you implying that there's something wrong with the state of work wear?

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subsystem
Not so much the state of work wear as how US worker are equipped. For
comparison here's some pictures of a similar project in Sweden:

[http://www.flickr.com/photos/citybanan/7608571102/in/photost...](http://www.flickr.com/photos/citybanan/7608571102/in/photostream)
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/citybanan/6146534872/in/photost...](http://www.flickr.com/photos/citybanan/6146534872/in/photostream)
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/citybanan/7241248288/in/photost...](http://www.flickr.com/photos/citybanan/7241248288/in/photostream)
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/citybanan/8293896234/in/photost...](http://www.flickr.com/photos/citybanan/8293896234/in/photostream)
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/citybanan/4635119003/in/photost...](http://www.flickr.com/photos/citybanan/4635119003/in/photostream)

~~~
Anechoic
You see US workers in similar getups in certain situations (usually workers
involved in wet or messy work like concrete/slurry pumping, drilling etc or
working in cold environments). I for one (having spent thousands of hours on
construction sites) would prefer "cotton based jeans and hoodies" to those
outfits in all but really colt & wet environments.

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betterunix
Now if they could finally complete the 2nd Ave. subway...

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uptown
This is a great blog to follow the progress on that project:
<http://thelaunchbox.blogspot.com/>

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bgruber
yay, reblogging a flickr feed.

<http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtaphotos/tags/eastsideaccess/>

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peteretep
Anyone seen anything similar for Crossrail?

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peteretep
Shouldh'a used the Google:
<http://www.crossrail.co.uk/news/images/tunnelling/>

