New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1907-02-02
TIE PENNSYLHANLA rrNNEL

The application of the Pennsylvania Railroad
Company for permission to open 32d and 33d
streets, between Madison and Seventh avenues
was a disagreeable surprise TO the public The
boring Of the tubes had advanced for months
under ground. and it was generally expected
that this great work would be completed with
out any tearing up Of the streets. The unex-
peCted difficulties encountered by the contrac-
tors are sand and underground streams, but it
seems that the bOrings Of the railroads eng-
Deers to ascertain the structure of the under
ground territory through which the tunnel was
to pass must have been carelessly made to miss
entirely a strip of sand about four hundred
feet long, beginning little east Of Fifth avenue
and extending to little west of that highway
and underlying both 32d and 33d streets. That
strip Of sand Is q tremendous obstacle TO the
building of the tunnel. leaving out of consdera-
ton the similar unexpected engineering diff
Guilty encountered west Of Sixth avenue
The statement Of Mr.. Philbin counsel for the
contracting company, and the affldavits OF the
engineers whom he quoted show that the fate
of the great work depends upon the solution of
the engineering problems presented by that belt
Of sand. The engineers agree, and we are not
prepared to dispute their conclusions, that 1t
will be impossible to finish the tunnel without
excayating from the surface downward. How
great a difficulty this excavation will be may
be gathered from the statement Of counsel that
1t will extend the width of the streets up to
six feet from the building line on each side
The railroad bed will be sixty feet below the
surface. Thu the buildings along the streets
will stand within six feet of hole sixty feet
deep. 1t is said by the engineers that only
with a cut and cover system of excavation can
the buildings be protected from being under
mined by the caving Of sand into the tunnels
1t is proposed TO shore up the foundations Of
the buidinQS and the nv ia
United Engineering and Contracting Company,
building the tunnels, suggests that in many
cases at least, something more than snoring
up will be needed. "In this way (that Is, by
excavating from the surface of the roadway,
says the statement. the building foundations
may be carried down until solid bedrock Is
reached" Apparently in some cases il may be
necessary to carry the foundations down sixty
feet to the level Of the tunnel roadbed or a lit
tie further That gives some notion OF the ire
mendous difficulties presented by an engineering
oversight which failed to discover belt Of
sand four hundred or more feet wide
1t is hard to refrain from expressing impa-
thence with such oversight. At the same
time no one can accuse the railroad of desiring
TO excavate from the street surface downward
I'm order to save expense Apparently such an
excavation is the only way of proceeding with
the tunnel. To attempt to support with tlmbers
water would be to endanger the great buildings
standing almost directly over II. The open cut,
with the snoring up of buildings and the extern
sion OF their foundations downward, will, more
over, cost vastly more :than tunnelling And.
again, such excavation Will evidently delay
the completion of the road by many months.
The opening Of the streets will be a great
hardship TO property owners and TO the public
When lower Broadway was open only at night
during the construction Of the rapid transit
tunnel particular trouble was caused he
cause lower Broadway Is almost untravelled
after nightfall But 93d street IS If ANYTHING
buster by night than in the daytime At ii
O'Clock. when ii is proposed to remove the COW
ers from the cut the theatres are discharging
their hungry throngs upon the streets There
are no hours in the twenty-four when 33d street
is as quiet as lower Broadway is after s o'clock
In the evening. The ahuttng property owners.
however have keen interest in the compile
tiCn Of the tunnel, and We do not doubt that