Saturday, March 29, 2008

March 29, 2008 - part 2

I was surprised by how busy and active the work site was today - a Saturday. There must have been over 50 men and women working on the site today between 91st and 95th streets.

For the first time (that I've seen) they even had the big rotary drilling machine working on a Saturday. Maybe the MTA has ramped up the work so as to not fall father behind.


95th, NE corner - looking south
Here the Bauer rotary drilling rig is lowering a very long steel
I-beam down a shaft that has just been drilled.

This I-beam, I believe, will form the outer edge of the tunnel boring machine launch box and later the new 96th street station. The length of this I-beam gives you a good idea how deep down the launch box will be.



94th, near the SE corner - looking west
Workers here are moving large pieces of lumber. This wood is used to shore up the trenches that are being dig out for utility lines and pipes that are being relocated.








93rd, SE corner - looking south
The trench at this location is about 10-15 feet deep.



92nd, NE corner - looking north
Here a worker is cutting off the tops of wooden piles that are used to shore up the trench walls. I suppose that the trenches at this location have been covered for safety reasons because of of their depth.



92nd - looking north
Here workers are digging a trench (near what is left of the sidewalk) by hand. As the workers dig they place the loose dirt in a large canvas sack that is then lifted (as shown) out of the trench by the machine.



The canvas sack (full of dirt) is then dumped in a truck and the dirt is then trucked away.


Note: The following 2 images were taken on March 8, 2008:


The front door of Delizia Pizza on the SE corner of 92nd during a late winter rain storm.
(note the canvas sack full of dirt on the left.)


The 180 degree image below, which is actually 6 individual images that have been "stitched" together, was taken while standing in the doorway of Delizia Pizza.


S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . W . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N

Note: This is a stitched image. Left-click on the image for a larger view.