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Excavation of West Tunnel for Second Avenue Subway Almost Complete


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SecondAve_.jpg

 

The tunnel boring machine (TBM) that has been making its way down Second Avenue is about to complete its first run. The TBM has mined approximately 7,200 feet and is just 82 feet away from completing the west tunnel for the future Second Avenue Subway.

 

The 485-ton, 450-foot-long machine began mining in May 2010 from 92nd Street marking a significant milestone in Phase 1 of the MTA’s Second Avenue Subway construction project, which is on schedule to be completed by December 2016.

 

Read more here.

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It's time to get the other tunnel done...but it's a start.:tup:

 

Shows you how long the ancillary work takes: For ESA, tunnel boring will be done by mid-2012, yet service won't begin till 2015 at the earliest.

 

At this rate, both tunnels should be bored by this time next year.

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Good to know that it is on schedule for once and not being delayed.

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Wirelessly posted via (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

 

Good to know that it is on schedule for once and not being delayed.

 

My sentiment also. Nice to see good news come from the new line for once.

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Let's see. The first phase of the Second Avenue Subway took 8 years from 2008-2016 (Q). Lets say the second phase (Q) would take about the same time. So it should be complete in 2024. If the third phase (T) should ever start it would be the longest of all the phases, because of it's long distance from 72nd Street to Houston Street. If it all goes right on time it would be 2034 when the (T) comes online, and it would be 2044 when the (T) would finally run from 125th Street-Hanover Square. Now this is just an estimate it can take much longer to get it done, but even if it's done in our lifetimes most of us here would have white hair, and would be using a wheelchair to railfan the Second Avenue Subway (Q), (T).

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Let's see. The first phase of the Second Avenue Subway took 8 years from 2008-2016 (Q). Lets say the second phase (Q) would take about the same time. So it should be complete in 2024. If the third phase (T) should ever start it would be the longest of all the phases, because of it's long distance from 72nd Street to Houston Street. If it all goes right on time it would be 2034 when the (T) comes online, and it would be 2044 when the (T) would finally run from 125th Street-Hanover Square.

Hmm...so 8 years for ~30 blocks and 38 years for ~150 blocks. Now that I come to think of it, they'll probably open the SAS Phase 3 to 34 St first; 72 to 0 St (pretty much) is too far of a distance for one phase.

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Let's see. The first phase of the Second Avenue Subway took 8 years from 2008-2016 (Q). Lets say the second phase (Q) would take about the same time. So it should be complete in 2024. If the third phase (T) should ever start it would be the longest of all the phases, because of it's long distance from 72nd Street to Houston Street. If it all goes right on time it would be 2034 when the (T) comes online, and it would be 2044 when the (T) would finally run from 125th Street-Hanover Square. Now this is just an estimate it can take much longer to get it done, but even if it's done in our lifetimes most of us here would have white hair, and would be using a wheelchair to railfan the Second Avenue Subway (Q), (T).

 

The good thing about Phase 2 is that it's technically half done. In the 1970s, a stretch of it was completed from 120th Street to around 100th Street (please correct me if I'm wrong) with a unfinished gap around 106th Street. The turn onto 125 Street might be the delay point, but it can be done before the turn of the decade if done right.

 

I have a cheaper idea. Why don't we just kill the (T) at Houston Street, and send it along with the (F) down the Culver Line. It's much cheaper.

 

That depends if the switch at Lexington Avenue is smooth enough to not impede service. Good idea though.

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I have a cheaper idea. Why don't we just kill the (T) at Houston Street, and send it along with the (F) down the Culver Line. It's much cheaper.

 

That doesn't do anything to help the (4)(5) to downtown. If the line runs from just 125th to Houston, it benefits mostly the 42nd St bound crowd.

 

The (T) should at least get to somewhere close to Chambers St [i still say via Center/Nassau St taking over the (J) line segment].

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That doesn't do anything to help the (4)(5) to downtown. If the line runs from just 125th to Houston, it benefits mostly the 42nd St bound crowd.

 

The (T) should at least get to somewhere close to Chambers St [i still say via Center/Nassau St taking over the (J) line segment].

 

Helping the 42nd St crowd would be enough to solve the crowding problems. The (4)(5)(6) aren't crowded south of Grand Central headed downtown. The problem areas (at morning rush hour, reverse at evening rush hour) are Bleecker to 42nd headed uptown and 125th to 42nd headed downtown. The (T) to Houston St and then on the Culver Local (with the (F) express) to Church Ave would solve that.

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I have a cheaper idea. Why don't we just kill the (T) at Houston Street, and send it along with the (F) down the Culver Line. It's much cheaper.

 

That would be one way to answer the age-old railfan question about what to run on the Culver express tracks now that (V) train is no more. By running the (F) local to Church and the (T) express to Stillwell, you can shorten the (F)'s running times, making it a more reliable line and the (T) would not be subjected to long deadhead moves, because it could be based out of Coney Island Yard, which would be very near to its last stop.

 

At the very least, the MTA should consider building connecting tracks between the (F) and the (T) near the 2nd Ave/Houston St station, even if they ultimately aren't used for revenue service.

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Helping the 42nd St crowd would be enough to solve the crowding problems. The (4)(5)(6) aren't crowded south of Grand Central headed downtown. The problem areas (at morning rush hour, reverse at evening rush hour) are Bleecker to 42nd headed uptown and 125th to 42nd headed downtown. The (T) to Houston St and then on the Culver Local (with the (F) express) to Church Ave would solve that.

I've been on (4)/(5) trains south of Grand Central at 8 in the morning and I disagree. The (4)(5)(6) are pretty much SRO during the entire trip in Manhattan, with a few exceptions (such as north of 96th (6) during the AM rush)

If this was in somewhere overseas and across the border in Canada, the SAS phase I would be done now, in fact Phase II may be close to completion too, and the (Q) may just be running already. I do hope they put more stress on the labor law and working unions to get things done rather than hold up and cry for more benefits, and those laws from the old 20th Century things are causing friction on developments. And for some reason our 'modern technologies' work slower than a ground hog who probably built tunnel that can hold up as good, smh...

Labor isn't what's primarily slowing down this project. It's all about the money. If this project were fully funded from day 1, the first phase of the SAS would be opening in 2 years. They keep pushing back the opening date because no one is providing the remainder of the funding in the Capital Plan.

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Helping the 42nd St crowd would be enough to solve the crowding problems. The (4)(5)(6) aren't crowded south of Grand Central headed downtown.

 

That is not true in the least. I ride the (4)(5) to Borough Hall every day for school. Multiple seats are open by Fulton/Wall Sts, but before then, consider yourself luck if you manage to find an open spot.

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That would be one way to answer the age-old railfan question about what to run on the Culver express tracks now that (V) train is no more. By running the (F) local to Church and the (T) express to Stillwell, you can shorten the (F)'s running times, making it a more reliable line and the (T) would not be subjected to long deadhead moves, because it could be based out of Coney Island Yard, which would be very near to its last stop.

 

At the very least, the MTA should consider building connecting tracks between the (F) and the (T) near the 2nd Ave/Houston St station, even if they ultimately aren't used for revenue service.

 

Remember that anything past phase 1 isn't set in stone yet and is subject to change. I myself don't exactly agree with the relative lack of downtown transfers the current plan calls for, but of course, that can change.

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The problem isn't the (4)(5) in Manhattan. They are packed coming into Manhattan. They are more packed then their respective sister lines in the IRT or IND for that matter by that point. Unless there's some sort of line that will run in between Grand Concourse and Southern Blvd that will pull riders from these trains in the Bronx nothing will change on the (4)(5). The (Q) to 125th will give relief to the (6) north of 59th, especially in the rush and late evening. All those UES riders who used to ride the (4)(5)(6) down to 59th to get to the west side can just start on that (Q) to begin with. Much of the nightlife on the UES is on 3av and 2av, and the type of people who spend their leisure time up there will utilize the (Q) more than the (4), whose basis of people's destination is really 14th street and below.

 

And this is from someone who worked the (6) exclusively for years as a C/R.

 

Oh, and as far as a southern point for the (T), the current Second Av on the (F) is a cheap option (connecting through the tail tracks south of the station), running the line through alphabet city without having to figure out how to put in tracks near the cut or those heading for the bridge. I really don't think it'll ever get to lower Manhattan much less Brooklyn, with them preferring to build a small underground yard/tail tracks north of 125th.

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Exactly the main reason why the Lexington Avenue Line is crowded in the first place is it's the sole line that goes through the East Side. Many people go to the East Side, because of the Nightlife, and the Clubs. Many of these clubbers don't come in from the East Side. They come in from Brooklyn, and the Bronx. The Second Avenue Line won't be useful unless if there is some cheap way to bring the line into Brooklyn, and the Bronx.

 

Some cheap ideas to send the (T) to Brooklyn would be to link it with the (F) at Houston Street which I mentioned. The other plan is to send the (T) up the Manhattan Bridge by digging a connector to Grand Street, and to send the (:) onto the Culver tracks.

 

Cheap ideas to send the (T) to the Bronx is to drill a tunnel under the Harlem River, and run it up Third Avenue a bit then connect it to the Concourse Line along with the (;), and (D). Thus this would help the Lexington Avenue Line, and it would help the (T) to get to Brooklyn, and the Bronx cheaply, and efficiently. If we don't do this the (T) would just be a Manhattan (S) train.

 

Maybe the best idea here is to have the (T) run up the Manhattan Bridge, and have the (B) run to the Culver Line. You can have a connector dug between Bowery, and Grand Street giving a connection to Lower Manhattan.

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