The plan to build a second subway line serving Manhattan’s congested East Side has been on the city’s drawing board for eight decades. Now, having withstood financial crises and opposition by residents near the construction zone, the $4.45-billion first phase of the Second Avenue subway project is under way, with 7,200 ft of tunneling almost completed out of a total of 15,000 ft planned. And as crews begin freezing a 150-ft stretch of earth for the second tunnel, they also are trying to thaw the hearts and minds of opposition groups. With the help of Rockaway, N.J.-based subcontractor Moretrench, a
Taking its cue from the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED building certification program, a new Illinois initiative seeks to incorporate sustainable design and construction practices into state road and transportation projects. Like LEED, the Illinois-Livable and Sustainable Transportation (I-LAST) Guide establishes a scoring system for planning, design and construction to “preserve natural resources and encourage low-impact forms of transportation,” says Doug Knuth, project chair with the American Council of Engineering Cos. of Illinois, which developed I-LAST in association with the Illinois Dept. of Transportation and the Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association. The program is the latest in a growing
Persistent water seepage has prompted the contractor of a new “straw” at southern Nevada’s Lake Mead to drill a starter tunnel in a drier direction. Photo: Courtesy of Southern Nevada Water Authority Nevada starter-tunnel route must be changed. The contractor says it is investigating an alternate alignment roughly 20� east from the current 200-ft-long starter tunnel. The plan would be to eventually rejoin the original alignment. Vegas Tunnel Constructors LLC (VTC), a joint venture of S.A. Healy Co., Lombard, Ill., and Impreglio S.p.A., Sesto San Giovanni, Italy, last year encountered water three times in six months while creating a starter
President Obama’s call in his State of the Union address for more funding for highways, transit and other infrastructure has launched what should be a rugged fight with congressional Republicans this year over public-works spending. Obama and his Democratic allies in Congress will push to Photo: Courtesy of The White House President Obama: Wants a six-year highway-transit bill jump-started with $50 billion and proposes an infrastructure bank to leverage private funds. Promises that all work will be “fully paid for” but didn’t say how. Continues to support high-speed-rail lines spread around the U.S., with a goal of high-speed service available
During the past four years, as millions of New York City subway commuters daily made their way through the transit system, tunnelers below were making history. In 2009, for the first time ever, tunnel-boring machines burrowed through ground that was artificially frozen, with crews placing precast segments in the TBMs’ wake. The twin tunnels form a 1.5-mile extension of the No. 7 subway line, from Manhattan’s Times Square station to the far West Side. For the most part, the TBMs dug through bedrock up to about 100 ft deep. But in one 300-ft-long segment, the top of the rock layer
The Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation—a joint venture of the state transportation department and the University of Virginia—and the college’s School of Engineering and Applied Science have won a $250,000 federal grant to study potential impacts of severe weather on U.S. transportation infrastructure in coastal areas. Researchers will pilot a conceptual risk-assessment model developed by the Federal Highway Administration to identify transportation assets most at risk. The study, which will focus on Hampton Roads, Va., will offer a template for national transportation planning because of the area’s coastal setting, high-density population, military bases and industrial sites, researchers say. A U.S.
When an agency has completed a mile-long pair of 22-ft-dia tunnels deep under a river and 140 ft beneath New York City, one might think that would be enough for one project. But that’s just the beginning for the $7.2-billion East Side Access project. While 800,000 cu yd of excavation for station caverns continues just feet from one of the world’s busiest rail terminals, contractors are gearing up for another tough tunneling task on the other side of the East River in Queens—in one of the world’s busiest rail interlocking yards. The first segments, as heavy as 270,000 lb, of
As contractors start mobilizing to drive Crossrail’s twin tunnels, work on the railroad’s $795-million station at the Canary Wharf commercial district in east London is powering ahead. The six-floor-deep station is the largest of Crossrail’s nine. Image: Courtesy of Crossrail Crossrail’s Canary Wharf Station is being constructed along the River Thames. Related Links: First Bids Keep Crossrail Budget on Track Top-down construction is forming the station along the River Thames. The structure will extend 25 meters below the water level. Construction within a watertight cofferdam is scheduled to greet tunnel-boring machines in summer 2012. Canary Wharf Group plc., the project
With their bids coming in below original estimates, European and Irish contractors grabbed the lion’s share of nearly $2 billion in tunneling contracts to be let so far on London’s $23-billion Crossrail project. The four contracts are the first of nearly 30 that Crossrail officials expect to award in the next 11 months. + Image Map: Courtesy Crossrail Ltd. Crossrail Ltd. plans to award 30 contracts in the next year to construct the $23-billion London rail project. Related Links: At Canary Wharf, Key Rail Station Takes Shape Bids below the original estimates were a positive development for project managers, who
India’s prime minister, Manmohan Singh, has reshuffled his Cabinet, and among the changes announced on Jan. 19 was the appointment of C.P. Joshi to be Minister for Road Transport and Highways. Joshi, who led the Rural Development Ministry, replaces Kamal Nath, who shifts to become head of the Urban Development Ministry. As Joshi begins his new job, he aims to make ministry operations transparent and push for new technology to monitor road projects in real time. The industry continues to expect that highway projects will be accelerated, although Joshi has declined to provide specific goals. In May 2009, then-minister Nath
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