New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-10-10
THE TUNNEL FULL OF WATER
ANOTHER accident UNDER THE RIVER. |
| "BLow-oUrn EARLY YESTERDAY MORNING.
WI q

What CAUSED THE AcCIDENT-wHY cAIssoNs
ARE NOT USED.
| Another accident was added yesterday to those
which have attended the prosecution OF the Hudson
| River Tunnel work under the system OF tunnelng
by compressed Fortunately it was no more than
blowout" Of air IN the New-York works and
was not attended by any loss of life or injury to the
workmen. 1t served to emphasize again the neces-
sity OF the great care constantly required ON the
part OF the workmen to prevent mishaps which at
least delay the work and add to its expense.
The tunnel on the New YO-k side of the river has
been built out nearly seventy feet from the place
where the caisson was first sunk and is nearly
under the river bed General William Sooy Smith,
formerly engineer n-chief resigned his position last
spring. asserting that he could not continue his
services unless a different plan of working was
| adopted. General Smiths idea was to bnild the
tunnel by the sinking of successive cassons across
the river. The present method to build out from
the caisson an iron she'll filling In the masonry after
ward An iron bukhead formed of a series of plates
each fifteen inches high and four feet one and one
half inches long, closes each section. At the
widest point the bulkhead is twenty-five feet wide
and at the highest it is twenty-three feet high.
Each series of plates is called a course" When
new section is to DO opened the plates forming the
top course OF the bulkhead are removed. the earth
ahead Is excavated and the roof made by boiling on
other iron plates to the iron shell of the completed
section AS each course is removed the iron cas-
| ing is built forward and downward until another
| section OF the cylinder is finished. In making the
excavations the men work in compressed air OF
pressure that from seventeen to twenty nine
pounds 10 the square inch above atmospheric press
The iron plates for the roof of new section are
sustained mainly by the force of the compressed
and the support afforded by their being bolted to
the completed iron shell of The tunnel. Wooden
beams are used to support these roof plates they
are put up but the support IS intended mainly to
steady them. For hve-sxths of the resistance
necessary to hold them up the engineer of the
tunnel depends u BON the power Of compressed air.
The accident yesterday occurred few minutes
after a. IN. The sixth section of the tunnel was
being started. Five plates had been put in tor the
first ring of the iron shell and the first plate was in
toward the completion of the second ling. At this
point of the the water that was percolating
in from the surrounding earth began to inconven-
fence the wOrdmen. More or less water always
forcs itself into he working chamber but a rapid
escape of compressed air Increased the ordinary flow
yesterday to the danger limit After attempting
in vain to stop the leak the workmen were COM
PEELED to retire through the airock II took them
only five minutes to escape. but it was two hours
before the space up to the air-lock was filled with
water. Work is not expected to be delayed how
ever, more than twenty -four hours
d. c. HaskIn. manager of the Hudson Tunnel
Construction Company, said last evening to TRIB-
UNE reporter that the accident of the KInd that
frequently happens. IL was thought no more of
than street-car passenger would think OF the
delay caused by fire Hhich might compel him to
| leave one car and take another. Divers had gone
| into the heading to put back the plates which had
| bean taken out OF the temporary bulkhead. Mr.
IIaskin thought that the work on the tunnel would
be resumed without more than day delay. tie
| said that the work on the New-YOIk side was rem
dered more difficult than 1t would be otherwise by
the fact that t had to be carried through the piles on
which the pier was built. There were some seventy
iron piles TO be cut through before the river could
! be reached After that the nature of the earth
wOnd afford less opportunity for bow-outs to
occur The present blowout was probably
caused by the lOOsening OF the soil between the
piles into which the wOrk men were cutting at the
time. MIR. Haskin said that the calsson system o.
tunnellIng would be too expensive to be pract-
cable. Ii would also be lmpractcable to rely upon
timbcring support the iron roof plates Of the
tunnel that were now held chiefly by the force OF
the colnpresSnd air. There were more accidents IN
prooOrtOn to the work done when tine hrst ctlssOns
wee sunk for the tunnel than after the work had
made progress under the system OF compressed ar
reporter Of The TRIBUNE called last night on
S. II. Finch the engineer In charge oil tne tunnel
at his Office at the foot OF Mort0n'st. MT. flnch
was surprised that the news Of the accident had
become known. He said thai he was perfectly WILL
ing to give full account of the occurrence. After eX
planning in detail the manner IN Whlch the Worh IS
carried on he said that the accident was entirely un
avoldable, owing TO the nature OF tine cartn IN
which the men are now working. 1t is composed of
sand and gravel varying size from pln-head to
a water pail. The accident continued Mr.. Flnch,
:" was caused by the compressed air IN which The
men work blowing ont the earth There Is always
| a flow OF water where the men are. averaging
| nearly 20C gallons n minute. Sometimes there -
an unusual flow Of water, rs was the case thls
morning when the wOrkmen who are provided win
mud-bags attempted to fill up the hole railing 10
STOP tn water the retreated through tine ar
lock- 1t took about five minutes for the men 10 get
out and two bOurs for the place to I'LL with WAFER
la mad
mean the work of boring the tunnel, rs we nope 10
have the damage repsred before mornin2 mere
is diver at work there now filling i'll the hole Win
the mud-bags.o
@Are these blow-Outs liable to occur mt any tuner
They are. The last one OF any Importance was
August 20" a.,
"Wonld they occur if you worked in a casson !
mo but it would cost like sam iiiil 10 Dulld
one Why it would take whole lumber yard"
"Will the danger be as great when you get at WORK
under the river ,
I'VE hope not, for expect from soundlnes anu
boring that there will be silt found very near the
edge of the river. We ale now Just at the MYERS
edge