Drilling on 2nd Avenue

When I walked by the work site this past Saturday, SSK Constructors (which is a joint venture of Schiavone Construction, J.F. Shea Construction, and Kiewit Infrastructure Corp) and its subcontractor were hard at work drilling out core samples of the rock under Second Avenue.

The core samples are being taken in anticipation of the start of mining operations for the 72nd Street station cavern.



11/13/10
69th Street
A mobile drilling rig (the blue machine) is shown in this image.



11/13/10
69th Street - looking N
The liquid (which is called a flushing medium) in the pan is used to cool the drilling bit, lubricate the core, remove the loose bits of rock, and help stabilize the hole. It is some combination of water, soluble oil and/or drilling mud.



11/13/10
A closeup view of the shaft (called a core drill string) which is seen turning at a high rate of speed in this image.



11/13/10
70rd Street - looking S
A second drilling rig in this work zone can be seen in the center of the image.

Note the sound level meter that has been mounted on the wooden pole on the left in this image. Its interesting to see that permanent sound level meters have been setup by the MTA's contractor at this particular work site. Permanent sound level meters allow the contractor to measure and record the sound level over a long period of time.



11/13/10
btw. 72nd & 73rd streets - looking NW
A third drilling rig is shown in this image, working just south of 73rd Street.

The wooden boxes shown on the left in this shot (below the taxi) are used to transport the core samples from the job site.



11/13/10
84th Street - looking S (west side of 2nd Avenue shown)
A view of the work site at this location. Workers here are in the process of replacing a 48" sewer main.



11/13/10
87th Street - looking S
Work at this location on Second Avenue is taking place in the center of the street now. Traffic lanes can be seen on the right and the left of the active work zone.



11/13/10
91st Street - looking N
A view of the freeze pipes that have been installed just north of 91st Street. Each of these pipes will soon be connected the so called freeze plant that has been setup on 92nd Street.



11/13/10
A closer view of the top of one of the freeze pipes.



11/13/10
93rd Street - looking S
This hand drawn sign was apparently installed in the past week or so.



11/13/10
btw. 94th & 95th Streets - looking S
The MTA's contractor S3 Tunnel Constructors has recently started to paint their work site structures blue, as can be seen in this image.

I have to assume that this is part of the MTA's announced plan to "improve the pedestrian experience" on Second Avenue.



11/13/10
btw. 94th & 95th Streets
Late afternoon shadows cast across a small section of the work site.


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The MTA opened the bids for the
63rd Street Station Rehabilitation contract
on 11/4/10. (this is Contract C-26006).

The low bid, of $176,450,000, was submitted by Judlau Contracting Inc., of College Point, NY.

Here's a copy of the bid results that were posted on the MTA's web site:

Bid Number: C-26006
SECOND AVENUE STATION RECONSTRUCTION
Bid Open Date: 11/4/2010

Vendor Name / Bid Amount
JUDLAU CONTRACTING INC $176,450,000.00
PICONE-SCHIAVONE-TUTOR PERINI $177,654,925.00
SKANSKA USA CIVIL NORTHEAST I $177,763,300.00
CITNALTA CONSTRUCTION CORP. $205,172,904.00
TULLY CONSTRUCTION COMPANY INC $206,816,732.00
KIEWIT INFRASTRUCTURE CO. $254,223,331.00
Bid Total Count: 6


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In other procurement news, the MTA has now advertised the 86th Street Station Cavern Mining and Heavy Civil Structure contract (as Solicitation C-26008) using an Invitation for bid (IFB) process. This bid is currently scheduled to be opened on 12/21/10

The IFB Notice for Solicitation C-26008 says:

This Contract includes the 86th Street Station cavern and mine shafts and adits for the entrances, elevator shaft,electrical shafts, ancillaries, cross passages, underpinning of existing structures and cut and cover excavation;

the work will be performed after a Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) tunnel (constructed under Contract C-26002) has been bored through the station;

perform building demolition work at 83rd and at 86th Streets in advance of work on the construction of entrances and ancillaries;

underpin existing buildings adjacent to the ancillaries and Entrance 1;

mine the 86th St. Station cavern, and mine shafts and adits for the entrances, ancillaries, and cross passages;

install temporary rock support systems as work proceeds;

install the permanent structural liner in the cavern, entrances, and ancillaries;

the permanent structural work includes construction of the station invert slab, exterior walls, and roof arch in the cavern;

supply permanent plumbing, electrical, architectural precast concrete elements and architectural embedments and incorporate these into the cast concrete;

construct the structural shell exteriors of Ancillary 1 and Entrance 1 at 83rd St. and Ancillary 2 and Entrance 2 at 86th Street;

the permanent structure from station invert level to top of ground level; supply and install temporary mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems including ventilation, drainage and lighting as necessary to conduct the Work and restore the surface of Second Avenue and cross streets which also includes the restoration of roads, sidewalks, and soft and hard landscaping.

::


The New York State Senate Standing Committees On Corporations, Authorities and Commissions has announced, with this Notice of Public Hearing, that they will meet in New York City on November 30th at 1 p.m. to review the Second Avenue Subway project.


::


Last Reported Location of the TBM
btw. 77th and 78th streets
as of Friday, October 29th

TBM Run No. 1 (west tunnel)
92nd Street to 65th Street
7,200 linear feet
40 foot starter tunnel
3,737 feet mined w/TBM to date
3,423 feet to run

October 2010 TBM Mining Data:
Distance mined: 757 linear feet
TBM mining days: 21
Avg. distance per day: 36 feet

I've been told that the TBM production was below the planned 50-feet-per-day goal due to poor geological conditions along this section. The poor rock conditions require the contractor to setup steel rings in the tunnel as the TBM progresses forward.


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Here's a listing of the recent additions
to the right-hand column of The Launch Box

"2nd Ave. Subway Affecting Old Buildings" (5:15)
Reported by Ernie Anastos
Fox 5 News - 10/16/10
Includes a lengthy debate between Benjamin Kabak, of the 2nd Ave. Sagas subway blog, and Marcelo Ronchini, the owner of Nina's Argentinian Pizzeria.

"2nd Avenue Subway Explained to First Graders"
By Michael Grynbaum
The New York Times - 10/31/10

"The Second Avenue Subway - It's a Man Thing"
By Kathleeenwng
Letter from New York - 10/21/10

"State Senate to Hold Subway Hearing"
By Dan Rivoli
Our Town - 11/11/10


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The time-lapse video embedded below documents a 3 1/2 days light rail construction project -- in 12 minutes and 50 seconds.

The video obviously has nothing to do with the Second Avenue subway project. I posted it here because I thought that it was neat way to show just how much work goes into a complex construction project.


"Church and 30th St. San Francisco MUNI Construction"
By Ken Murphy / via Vimeo