New-York tribune., 1901-12-15
THE TUNNEL TO BROOKLYN.
PREPARATORY WORK ON THE RAPID
TRANSIT BORE FROM SOUTH
FERRY TO JORALEMON-ST.

| "sta-5oard. hard-a-starboard. Jim, or you'll
| bump boomin' raft over.' came warning cry
| from a tugboat which yesterday picked its way
slowly around the nose OF the island into the East
River Two huge barges almost hid the snorting
little tug from view.
Let 'er bunpr came the reply. Whats them
kind O. craft doin' in the current. anyhow
The port rail OF one of the barges missed the
raft" by only few yards. The upon the
peculiar kind O. craft did deign 10 look up
from their work. They had evidently become accus-
toned to danger.
What are they doing out there on piles in the
river?" is q question that is frequently heard
board the ferryboats which over to Staten
Island. A Tribune reporter. hearing this question
so often propounded had his curiosity kinded suff
cientiy to call the Office Of the Rapid Transit
Commission. where he learned what the craft
all about. This is what a rapid transit en-
gineer said:
We're getting ready for tunnel from South
Ferry 10 JoraIemon-st.. Brooklyn. Before an en-
gineer begins the actual work of tunneling he wants
TO have a pretty good idea Of the character of the
soil through which he proposes to lay his route
That's what we are ascertaining. We are cut
ting through the soil and rock of the river bottom
so that can easily figure up the difficulties
of the job OF course, get only approx
innate idea of the matter under the river Still, by
n series of comparisons pretty fair notion may be
obtained.
The exact distance from South Ferry to JoraIe-
is 1000 feet. In the middle of the channel
either shore line the gradient the centre of the
stream is gradual. When cars are running through
the tunnel passengers Will at high tide go down
ninety feet below the surface of the water Thus
the tunnel will at the middle point of the route. be
forty feet below the of the river bed l fancy
that will be something OF a novelty for some people,
don't you?"
will be a fine trip a hot August afternoon"
ventured the reporter. But when will the boring
begn?"
That began three months ago." said the
gineer First. the contractors rigged up a wash
borer.' This borer placed upon floating raft
that bobbed a good deal IN the waves. but that did
bother the workmen much. They dropped
long pipe three inches in diameter into the mud
Through this pipe pointed iron Tdmmer
with a hole the point and through which
mud and gravel which once rose the top As
the pipe sank deeper into the bottom of the river
Of boring kept up for six weeks. In the centre
of the stream and toward the Brooklyn shore we
encountered rock Near South Ferry. at depth
of thirty feet reached gneiss."
How did you get through the rock2
That where the sport began the word
sport advisedly, for a number Of steamboat, tug
and barge ca plains certainly seemed have good
time When the wash boring going on 1t made
little difference II a boat came into collsion with
the platform where our men were working But IN
diamond drill work a rigid platform had to be built
Piles 60 feet long were driven, and across the top
of these a platform constructed These piles
turned out to be vertable target In one week
three sets of piles were cut off short by passing
craft Pipes, drills and everything else were
smashed OF course, that delayed the drilling.
ra,,aIy@s Is pIaced upon the platform This com
rluncates with diamond drill which a round
piece of rock about three inches long and inch
gnefss is drawn up through the pipe and compared
with pieces obtained from points along the route.
which We shall have to tunnel get fairly good
idea Of what to expect