Thursday, March 6, 2014

Montague Tunnel Repairs: Opportunity In Sandy Crisis

Montague Street Tunnel Will Reopen In October, MTA Says
Via Brooklyn Heights Blog, an amazing transformation is taking place in the Montague Tunnel that hosts the R train.  Great to see NYCT taking this time to go deep on the project.
Brooklyn Eagle: Workers are removing all of the wiring, lighting, signals, and concrete in the tunnel, MTA officials told the Traffic and Transportation Committee. The tunnel has been striped bare, right down to its cast iron ring, installed 100 years ago. Workers are busy inspecting the tunnel for leaks and are stopping those leaks through a chemical grouting injection process, according to the MTA. During this process, over 2,000 of the original bolts holding together the 18 foot diameter cast iron tunnel rings and liner are being replaced with specially manufactured grout bolts. Before the project is complete, it is estimated that more than 6,000 high strength steel bolts will be replaced. The repairs are, in reality, a complete rebuilding of the interior of the tunnel, according to Cruz, who called the work "an amazing feat of engineering and logistics."

Too often it seems we (society in general) do the minimum necessary, and later have to endure more costly and disruptive repairs.  A lot of this work was going to be needed at some point; what's being forced on us now should lead to many years of good service ahead.

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