The daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1904-1905, 1904-10-28


Indianapolis. Ind.
of engineering and construction. In
the shape Of an irregular Y, with the
stem resting at the City Hall, the
tunnel runs north to And street
where it bends sharply west to
Broadway and out that thoroughfare
TO 103rd street. This portion of the
tunnel is a four track system, two
tracks for local and two for express
train service. At 103rd street two
tracks diverge in a generally north
eastern direction, cross under a cor
ner of Central Park and on to the
Harlem River, under which it passes
by means Of tunnel made famous
by the engineering skill called into
play to complete it. After passing
under the river it continues to Third
Avenue and 145th street, where the
tunnel ends and the line is contin-
ued upon a viaduct to Bronx Park.
The West Side branch of two
tracks continues north from 103rd
street to Hillside Avenue and 18th
Avenue, where it energies from a
tunnel and is continued upon via
duct to its terminus at Spuyten
Duyvil Nine miles of this total Of
about fourteen miles were ready for
traffic today, but it is expected that
the East Side division and the re-
mainder Of the West Side line will
be ready in about three months. The
recently authorized line from City
Hall under the East River to Pros
pcct Park, Brooklyn, will not be COM
pleted for about three years. With
that and other lines under construc-
ton and authorized, Greater New
York will have between twenty two
and twenty three miles of Subway
and allied lines.
Ground was broken for the tunnel
on March IS, 1900. after years of
agitation and litigation out of which
the present project grew. 1t had
been. decided by municipal ballot
that the city should own the system
but that it should be constructed I'M
der private contract on money loan
ed by the city, to be repaid by the
contractor with interest. It requir-
ed six years to lay out the route
and plan the size and character Of
the tunnel and the viaducts.
The tragedy of the entire work,
which up to date has cost about 100
lives, lies practically in the division
on Park Avenue in the Thirties and
Forties. A series of misfortunes
and accidents befell this section,
causing a number of deaths, entail
ing many damage suits and financial
ly running the subcontractor, who,
to crown the one dark chapter on
the Subway story, finally lost his
life in a blasting accident.
The rapid transit system, Of which
the Subway opened today is but the
first stage, when completed will
make New York unique among the
world s. cities. It's twenty-six miles
Of underground tracks, elevated
structures and viaducts, over which
will run express trains at nearly a
mile minute. will reach to the
city's northern and southern limits,
and dividing under the East River,
make the extreme eastern skirts OF
Brooklyn as accessible to the great
business districts and the apartment
house crowned heights Of Harlem.
1t is estimated that over this vast
system,and those of the Metropolitan
Street Railway company and the
Manhattan Elevated Company, will
lass annually more than nine hun
dred millions of passengers. Cross
ing this huge system of public util-
tiles will be the great $4,000, 900
private tunnel of the Pennsylvania
Railway company, which, crossing the
Hudson River from the Jersey shore
to Manhattan Island. will 90 under
the city, dive under the East River
and furnish an exit to the great
Long Island country Other links in
this giant system are the New York
and New Jersey railroad tunnel, the
Hudson and Manhattan Railroad
tunnel. the New York and Queens
tunnel, the New York Central TERM
nal tunnel. the Williamsburg Bridge
the Manhattan Bridge and the Black
wells Island Bridge. involving al
told an expenditure of about S2o5.
100000.