Railroad Forums 

Discussion relating to the past and present operations of the NYC Subway, PATH, and Staten Island Railway (SIRT).

Moderator: GirlOnTheTrain

 #1415552  by Jeff Smith
 
Not that Wiki is the most trustworthy (and needs an update considering Phase I completion): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrystie_ ... Connection" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The connection was originally conceived as part of the long delayed Second Avenue Subway, and is one of the few completed sections of the project.[1]
Not sure if it would end up as part of any future Phase.
 #1415613  by DogBert
 
The chinatown section is under Confucius Plaza, at the foot of the Manhattan Bridge.

This article has some interesting commentary on the phase II pricetag:
http://ltvsquad.com/2016/12/30/4-little ... budgeting/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In a nutshell, if they include the tunnel in Harlem that was built in the 1970s (and so far there's only rumor that they won't), the total length for new tunnel construction is less than one mile.
 #1415698  by rr503
 
Jeff Smith wrote:Not that Wiki is the most trustworthy (and needs an update considering Phase I completion): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrystie_ ... Connection" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The connection was originally conceived as part of the long delayed Second Avenue Subway, and is one of the few completed sections of the project.[1]
Not sure if it would end up as part of any future Phase.
It can't. I don't believe there is space for another pair of tracks on the same level as the B/D under Christie. I believe the current plan is to run the tracks under the B/D

Honestly though, subway engineers have become waaaaaaay too fixated on deep bore tunnels. Just build them w/ cut/cover near the surface, making stations cheaper and easier access, and the whole process a lot simpler.
 #1415734  by Backshophoss
 
You have Con-Ed electric,NY Telephone,Water,Sewer,and Steam lines,just barely under the pavement.
Then you need to get under the exisiting subway tunnels,and the supersized Water Tunnels.
No other choise but to go the deep bore route.
 #1415737  by alewifebp
 
Yeah, look at how long it took just to get the TBM entry/exit points completed with all of the utility relocation that they needed. Not to mention the impracticability both in terms of traffic and political will to have torn up streets for long periods of time.
 #1415807  by DogBert
 
I suspect the pendulum might swing the other way against streets torn up. Yes, it'll kill local businesses, but subway overcrowding/delays/etc might kill NYC in the long run. Everyone I've spoken to on this topic says they need to build more, faster. (the key of course would be 'faster' - can't just cut a hole in the street and leave it there for years).
 #1416215  by Greg Moore
 
I tend to suspect that if you told the businesses, "Yes, we're going to completely dig stuff up, but we'll be done 4x faster" they might buy into it.

Honestly, comparing how we do things in NYC compared to say Paris shows we're paying a LOT more for a lot less.
 #1416313  by DogBert
 
Let's say you're a restaurant owner with a 10 year lease, do yo want construction outside for a year, or 5-6 years?

i forget the exact timeline but it was roughly a year for them to rebuild the section of 1 line tunnel that caved in on 9/11. Grant it the whole area was closed to the public, but...

The deep bore tunnels are also significantly harder to repair. The new South Ferry is still out after Sandy. It was filled with expensive ventilation equipment, elevators, escalators that needs replacing. The cost of maintaining all this hardware jacks up expenses for the MTA for decades to come. I get the need for elevators for ADA compliance, but there's something to be said for a station one level below the street where most people don't need any technology beyond their own legs to get in and out of the station.
 #1416767  by andegold
 
In reading what I could find of plans for phase III it seems that construction will use the TBM from the current southern end of the line to 58th street, then cut and cover for a very short stretch of only a couple of blocks and then resume with the TBM. I know there is a large water main running under 58th street which, combined with seeking the least disruption possible to the Queensborough Bridge lower level approach and exit, would explain the TBM between 63rd and 58th but why would they switch to cut and cover for such a short distance? How will they get the TBM in and out around that short stretch?
 #1417022  by Kamen Rider
 
much like the 7 extension and the 34th street station cavern, they can dig the cut and cover section while the TBM is digging from the existing phase 1 section, and then tow it through pre dug area when it arrives
 #1417065  by railfan365
 
As to any questions about what expanding on the SAS will include, the reading that I've done indicates the following:

1. Phase II will definitely include the 110th to 120th Street section of tunnel, which will have to have a section of the wall on each side torn out at and in proximity to 116th Street to build the station that's been planned for that spot. That will leave less than a mile of new tunnel boring to be done. The main awkwardness might be having to bore between 105th Street to 110th, and North of 120th separately. I previously said that with the end of Phase I and the beginning of that tunnel segment being separated by very little more than the space where the 106th Street Station should go, that they should have included that station in Phase I and had tail tracks go to 120th. But then I realized that if they had did it that way, then construction of the 116th Street Station would have interfered with having uptown car storage.

2. The segment of tunnel at Confucious Plaza will NOT be incorporated into Phase IV. The full SAS that's been most recently promised had the downtown routing changed from what was planned in the 1960's.

3. As to the construction methods to be used, all I know is what I read here.
 #1418253  by Arlington
 
SAS 2 & 3 are on Trump's infrastructure priority list:
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politic ... 164.html#0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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