IRT Bronx Express Posted March 18, 2011 Share #1 Posted March 18, 2011 MTA officials have dedicated two tunnel boring machines that will create four tunnels under Sunnyside Yard in Queens, connecting the tracks of the Long Island Rail Road Main Line with the tunnel under the East River that leads to Grand Central Terminal. The tunnels, to be completed in October 2012, are the last to be built as part of the East Side Access project. The machines, named Tess and Molina by sixth graders at I.S. 204 in Long Island City, will start to mine next month. Two separate machines that are excavating tunnels and caverns in the bedrock under Manhattan are on schedule to complete their work this May. After the completion of the overall project in 2016, LIRR trains traveling through Sunnyside will be able to travel directly to Grand Central Terminal. Read more: http://www.mta.info/news/stories/?story=211 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broadway Local Posted March 18, 2011 Share #2 Posted March 18, 2011 This belongs to the LIRR/MNR forum. Can't wait until LIRR goes to Grand Central! What do we think?! :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GojiMet86 Posted March 18, 2011 Share #3 Posted March 18, 2011 This is great. BTW, did anyone see a program on channel 25 about the MTA? It talked about the East Side Access Project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4P3607 Posted March 19, 2011 Share #4 Posted March 19, 2011 I wish they'd get SAS done first, otherwise crowds are going to go up on the Lex Av Lines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dman1455 Posted March 19, 2011 Share #5 Posted March 19, 2011 I wish they'd get SAS done first, otherwise crowds are going to go up on the Lex Av Lines. Well you got M15 SBS and It would be nice to see LIRR going to Grand Central! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1447 Posted March 19, 2011 Share #6 Posted March 19, 2011 I wish they'd get SAS done first, otherwise crowds are going to go up on the Lex Av Lines. As Dman says, You got the M15 SBS, be glade. The MTA needs that ESA. If u were to KNOW more about Railroads u would KNOW more about whats going on.. Just like on NJT/Amtrak side, instead of the damn line going to NJ, Thank god Amtrak is building the Gateway tunnel to help fix up the headways in the Hudson Tunnels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4P3607 Posted March 19, 2011 Share #7 Posted March 19, 2011 As Dman says, You got the M15 SBS, be glade. The MTA needs that ESA. If u were to KNOW more about Railroads u would KNOW more about whats going on.. Just like on NJT/Amtrak side, instead of the damn line going to NJ, Thank god Amtrak is building the Gateway tunnel to help fix up the headways in the Hudson Tunnels. be an air freshener?! Anyways I am starting to learn MORE about railroads. And yes, money well spent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rd Avenue El Posted March 19, 2011 Share #8 Posted March 19, 2011 i saw an episode of the underworlds new york and it showed what the station is going to look like once the lirr is connected to grand central. its going to be 8 tracks with 4 platforms 3 levels. the middle level is the mezzanine for the lirr with ticket vending machines shops etc... the upper level on top of the mezzanine will be 4 tracks 2 island platforms and same configuration for the lower level. im going to see if i can find the link to the video so yall can see it okay? okay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nexis4Jersey Posted March 19, 2011 Share #9 Posted March 19, 2011 I thought they were done boring the Tunnels , i guess the harder Manhattan part? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1447 Posted March 19, 2011 Share #10 Posted March 19, 2011 I cant imagine if something went wrong on the Park Ave Mainline which caused problems for the MNR to go down, can the New Haven Line also access the ESA? be an air freshener?! Anyways I am starting to learn MORE about railroads. And yes, money well spent. uhhh yeah... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rd Avenue El Posted March 19, 2011 Share #11 Posted March 19, 2011 okay i cant post the video but go on youtube and search "cities of the underworld new york part 3" it will explain and show the east side access project Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1447 Posted March 19, 2011 Share #12 Posted March 19, 2011 BTW this thread needs to be moved, this not a Subway thread, but a LIRR thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoSpectacular Posted March 19, 2011 Share #13 Posted March 19, 2011 Uhhhh... It's about time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broadway Local Posted March 19, 2011 Share #14 Posted March 19, 2011 BTW this thread needs to be moved, this not a Subway thread, but a LIRR thread Beat ya to it! I apologize if i disrespected you. This belongs to the LIRR/MNR forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted March 19, 2011 Share #15 Posted March 19, 2011 It is so inconvenient to have to go to Penn Station to get the LIRR when I'm near Grand Central. I'm wondering why it took so long for this to be thought of??? In other words, this was never thought of previously and then canned? On that note why is there so much more subway access on the West side and so little on the East side? I know that the Second Avenue subway was canned a while back but still, even with the SAS up and running, the amount of options on the East Side pales in comparison to what exists on the West Side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmallParkShuttle Posted March 19, 2011 Share #16 Posted March 19, 2011 I thought they were done boring the Tunnels , i guess the harder Manhattan part? The Manhattan tunnels are almost done, though there is still much work to do down there, and those were the easy ones. The ones in Queens are under a different contract and trickier, since the ground being bored isn't mostly solid rock like Manhattan, but more clay/silt that's under the water table. That means that the machines being used to bore the tunnels need a special face that keeps the water out, builds the basic lining for the tunnel, and gives enough pressure to continue digging the tunnel. Those machines are called Earth Pressure Balance Machines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel Up Front Posted March 19, 2011 Share #17 Posted March 19, 2011 Is the ESA related to all these flat patches of dirt I'm seeing in between Woodside and the East River Tunnels? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traildriver Posted March 19, 2011 Share #18 Posted March 19, 2011 So they will finally connect to the lower level of the 63rd street tunnel, used by the subway for what, 20 years or so? About time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R32 3348 Posted March 19, 2011 Share #19 Posted March 19, 2011 I thought they were done boring the Tunnels , i guess the harder Manhattan part? They were boring the Manhattan tunnels, which should be finished by May. Is the ESA related to all these flat patches of dirt I'm seeing in between Woodside and the East River Tunnels? If it's those patches you're referring to by the Queens Plaza area, then yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vistausss Posted March 19, 2011 Share #20 Posted March 19, 2011 It is so inconvenient to have to go to Penn Station to get the LIRR when I'm near Grand Central. I'm wondering why it took so long for this to be thought of??? In other words, this was never thought of previously and then canned? 'Cause Penn Station once was THE big station in NY. That's why they connected it to Penn and later, when Grand Central became the big station after Penn RR got broke, they came up with ESA. They started boring but it got suspended for many years, just like SAS. Now it's brought back to life and just like SAS, they seriously want to finish it this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traildriver Posted March 20, 2011 Share #21 Posted March 20, 2011 'Cause Penn Station once was THE big station in NY. That's why they connected it to Penn and later, when Grand Central became the big station after Penn RR got broke, they came up with ESA. They started boring but it got suspended for many years, just like SAS. Now it's brought back to life and just like SAS, they seriously want to finish it this time. And remember, the PRR controlled the LIRR when it was extended into Manhatten in 1910 up until it was sold to the state in, IIRC 1967. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vistausss Posted March 20, 2011 Share #22 Posted March 20, 2011 Indeed, you're right. I forgot to mention that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metsfan Posted March 20, 2011 Share #23 Posted March 20, 2011 I like the NJT train in the photo top right. Gives a good idea of scale. - A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infamous85 Posted March 21, 2011 Share #24 Posted March 21, 2011 I thought this was all done already, 2012 isn't far though. This all happened fairly quick (going by MTA speeds). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vistausss Posted March 21, 2011 Share #25 Posted March 21, 2011 I thought this was all done already, 2012 isn't far though. This all happened fairly quick (going by MTA speeds). You mean 2016? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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