The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-05-18
East RIVER TUNNEL DEFECTS.
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Or rf,fmstlon whicb has rrachsd M
v .r coffcr, The subway tunnel usaisF
fiaf River viii ~ u~~lrss vhrn ihs
rHirtiun surh 10 compietsd. i~csuss
To- fmpusaible ~ rin trains through
80 yraterisy's mretinN ~ IN" Rapid
|..u.t ,ommts-ion Mayor McClellan ih
oins chief Rnaineer Rlcs ~ 10 the
I.u q tho tunnel lntirated that
f.a' - II had sunk. that N. tube. had
.ri from two inch"s ~ one fuot, and
,.r FL, would 10 two ~ three years before
H., rUnn"i could le orerated.
IHr plans frr tho tuhes provided only
and = half inches ~ spare between the
r.,rrft tho tunnel and tho roofs of the cars.
A. .. Ioprr--ion. according Va tho Mayor.
much 90 - foot In some places 10 Il
a.i trert that cara 20 the standard u-e N
,.r VISITING subway cannot le ~pnt through
,r 'uunel.
Mr. Rice. IN replying 10 the Mayor. was
rr. med TO belittls The trouble. He insisted
that the defects could be remedied very
,a..ly and that the trains would be run
mig through the tunnel Ivy January 1 next.
rli the Mayor pointed out that the contrac-
tor, for the TUNE we're - much concerned
that they had called to their aid such well
known engineers IA Charles Sooysmith.
Gtlstayc Lindenthal and Charles NJ. Jacobs,
and that these experts had practically
agreed that before the tunnel could be used
gart OF 1t would nave TO be rebuilt. MIR.
Rice combatted this contention. He said
that already over five hundred feet Of the
tunnel had been remedled, and insisted that
the whole tube would be ready for operation
IN January.
After the meeting Mr.. Rice mad this
statement:
determinations of the kind which have
occurred in the tubes to Brooklyn often
occur in this method Of building tunnels,
| understand similar difficulties have been
encountered in the tunnels now being built
under the North River by the McAdoo
companies. In fact, these companies have
had more to put up with than we have, for
the tubes under the North River have had
to be laid entirely on beds OF ALT, while
under the East River a large part Of our bed
has been Of rock.
The stretch which has been affected in
the East River tunnel lies under the Brook
lyn shore. Part of IL Ia under the river and
part under Joralemon street. In spots
there have been sinkages, and his has
caused n depression in the tops of the tube;
and IL Is true that in some places not a
sufficiently large margin has been left for
the trains TO avoid scrapihg against the sides
OF the tunnel.
Several hundred feet Of the depressions
--. -. -.AIsnl Thta hAa hAnr dana
by taking out the bottom plates Of the tube
and fitting in others which allowed for
lowering the floor of the tunnel. I am
aware that the contractors contend that
the trouble was due to the plans drawn by
William Barclay Parsons when he was
chief engineer Of the board. but as a matter
of fact the fault lay with the methods fol-
lowed by the contractor in building the
tunnel, and In a report I made to the board
some time ago l showed that the sinking
was caused by bad superintendent.
That my contention was right would
seem to he shown by the fact that the con-
tractors discharged the superintendent
they then had, and since there has been
more efficient supervision of the work Of
building the tunnel there have been no more
depressions." "
When the Mayor brought up the matter
at yesterdays meeting bis first question
was:
Il would like to ask when the Brooklyn
tunnel will be open for operation"
President Orr called upon the chief en-
gineer to answer the question, n tho latter
smilingly assured the Mayor that II would
lie open by January l next. He added
In the case of one Of the tubes we have
only $50 feet to go, and the other only 1 900
feet before the headings will meet, There
are no obstacles confronting usi the work
Of construction will he finished by about
December /, and the trains will be running
about a month or six weeks later
Mr., Rice's smile left him az the Mayor
began to PROFOUND his next query.
The statement has been made to me-
the Mayor said, that there are deforma-
tons in the tunnel of from two inches To one
foot, | nave been told that the contractor
in his difficulty called TO his aid Mr.. Sooy-
smith and Mr.. Lindenthal, and that when
they failed to fix up the defects Mr.. Jacobs,
who is regarded IA one Of the leading tunnel
experts OF the world, wac employed. am
also told that Mr.. Jacobs after examining
the tunnel gave an opinion that II would be
impossible to tinker with the tunnel and
that at least 1 200 feet of 1t would have to
be rebuilt. What truth Is there in that?'
4 want TO say that | have had IA much
experience in tunnel building as Mr.. Jacobs
and that I have looked after the interests
Of the city carefully" Mr., Rice answered.
1T ia true that there has been a lowering
Of the tunnel In spots to about Ills inches,
but the original margin Of clearance was
"a inches. Work on rectifying the de-
formation has already been begun, and re-
construction work on about 800 or 900 feet
has been completed already"
The Mayor, however, forced Mr.. Rio to
admit that there we're spots where the
Coverings we're as deep as Q inches and that
until these were remedied II would be i'm
possible to run trains through the tunnel.
SIS it not a fact that the fault OF the settle
ment has been laid to the way the original
plans were DRAWN p the Mayor asked.
Il have heard that there has been such a
claim, but II IL not correct. The fault Is
due to the olassof superintendent employed
10y the contractor"
You know, too, don't you; that Mr.,
Jacobs has reported that 200 feet OF the
tunnel must be entirely reconstruotedf'
Yes, | have heard that, but l think Mr..
Il LAl-