Tunnels have long snaked through the bedrock beneath New York, carrying people and water, but now the underground labyrinth is growing, with multiple projects under way. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" �Some of this work has been in the planning stages for ages but there has been a major push to modernize New York City�s infrastructure over the last decade,� says Gary A. Almeraris, vice president of Skanska USA Civil Northeast of Whitestone, N.Y. He reports the city and transportation authorities have championed the activity, and monies from the federal government, bond initiatives and local dollars have fueled the

Few projects last more than 40 years, but the New York City Department of Environmental Protection�s $6 billion, 60-mi City Water Tunnel No. 3, the largest project in the city�s history, has spanned more than four decades, with one segment open, another under way and several more elements in the works as the department aims for a 2020 completion. �Manhattan has been served by City Water Tunnel No. 1, constructed in 1917, and in order to take that tunnel down to do repairs and replace aging piping, we needed another tunnel,� says Kathryn Mallon, deputy commissioner of the DEP�s bureau

Beneath Second Avenue on Manhattan�s Upper East Side, a 485-ton monster is chewing its way through bedrock, mining tunnels for New York City�s first new subway line in 50 years. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" When completed in 2016, the Second Avenue line will run from 96th to 63rd Streets, where it will hook up with the existing 63rd Street and Broadway lines. Three new stations will be built at 96th, 86th and 72nd Streets along with new entrances to the existing Lexington Avenue/63rd Street Station. The $4.45 billion project is the first phase of the Metropolitan Transit Authority�s

It might be hard to believe, but there was a time when Skanska considered itself something of an unknown in the U.S. construction market. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" �We were always kind of a giant that no one ever knew much about,� says Richard Cavallaro, president of Skanska USA Civil, one of the Swedish construction giant�s four business units in North America. �People would ask us, �Where do you work?� and when you�d say Skanska, they�d say, �Who?� � For awhile, it made sense. Once the firm entered the U.S. market in 1971, it began acquiring firms both

Almost a decade after the attacks of 9/11, much of the new World Trade Center site remains under construction, with signature pieces like the Freedom Tower, the Frank Gehry performing arts pavilion and the 9/11 Memorial registering as little more than architectural renderings to most New Yorkers. But for the past seven years, at least one project right in the middle of it all has been fully operational � although not in its fully realized aesthetic glory. Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, celebrated for his perfectly engineered minimalist transit centers around the world, was selected to design the WTC PATH Hub.

Building Information Modeling is not just for vertical construction. Tunneling projects implementing BIM are realizing benefits in planning, design and construction coordination. In the New York City region, where tunneling projects have become one of the biggest economic drivers for the construction industry, experts are looking at underground jobs from around the country to determine where and how BIM was implemented effectively. Still, using BIM on tunneling projects is still more the exception than the rule. �A lot of civil engineering processes traditionally have been done in 2D with very little 3D conceptualization�, says Rolando Mendoza, director of consulting for

The only person to be criminally prosecuted for the deadly collapse of a 200-ft tower crane in Manhattan on March 15, 2008 was acquitted last week of all charges against him. Related Links: Trial Begins For Rigger in Deadly 2008 Crane Collapse Supervisor May Have Been Off-Site At Time of Crane Collapse Faulty Sling Argument Takes a Hit in Rigger�s Manslaughter Trial Doomed Crane Had History of Malfunctions Prosecutors Contest Own Witness in Crane Collapse Case New York Supreme Court Judge Roger Hayes’ tersely-worded verdict declared master rigger William Rapetti not guilty on a multitude of charges that included manslaughter

The prosecution’s argument against master rigger William Rapetti suffered a couple of blows Monday as a worker who was on site the day of the deadly 2008 crane collapse said he saw nothing wrong with the four nylon slings used to secure the crane’s six-ton steel collar to its mast. Related Links: Trial Begins For Rigger in Deadly 2008 Crane Collapse Victim “Buried Alive” in 2008 Crane Collapse Testifies in Manslaughter Trial for Crane Rigger Supervisor May Have Been Off-Site At Time of Crane Collapse Doomed Crane Had History of Malfunctions Prosecutors Contest Own Witness in Crane Collapse Case Rappeti

Attorneys for master rigger William Rapetti alleged in court Thursday that the supervisor for the lead contractor on the site of the deadly 2008 crane collapse in Midtown Manhattan was seen with St. Patrick’s Day “revelers” – who were on a “bar crawl” – at the time of the accident. Related Links: Trial Begins For Rigger in Deadly 2008 Crane Collapse Victim “Buried Alive” in 2008 Crane Collapse Testifies in Manslaughter Trial for Crane Rigger Faulty Sling Argument Takes a Hit in Rigger�s Manslaughter Trial Doomed Crane Had History of Malfunctions Prosecutors Contest Own Witness in Crane Collapse Case Rapetti

In an attempt to decorate the thousands of temporary protective structures that surround construction sites across the city, the New York City Department of Buildings is launching a design competition that invites artists and designers to use these structures as a way to display their art. Supported by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation to the Mayor’s Fund, Urbancanvas asks participants to create designs for fences, sheds, and other support and safety structures such as scaffolds and cocoon systems. Under a DOB pilot program, members of the building and construction community will select the winning designs to feature on a