Working on Saturday

12/18/10
btw. 72nd & 73rd streets - looking south

Workers from SSK Constructors (a joint venture of Schiavone Construction, J.F. Shea Construction, and Kiewit Infrastructure) were hard at work when I walked past their job site on Saturday afternoon.

SSK won the contract to build the underground cavern and associated tunnels for the new 72nd Street station with a bid of about $447 million.

The circular structure in the street, in the image above, is the 69th Street access shaft. This shaft, which was blasted to a depth of 60 feet by the earlier contractor (S3 Tunnel Constructors), will provide the contractor with access to the to-be-constructed underground station cavern.

The yellow machine shown above is a partially constructed Liebherr HS 885 crawler crane. (the boom has not yet been attached.)



12/18/10
73rd - looking S

A view of the shaft site, from the north.

According to the MTA's Construction Update web page, controlled blasting at this location was to start last week.



12/18/10
btw. 70th & 69th - looking W

The worker shown here grinding a piece of steel.



12/18/10
btw. 69th & 70th - looking NW

This is an image of the other access shaft, which is located just north of 69th Street.



12/18/10
69th - looking N

The MTA signage at this location is a bit confusing.

The sign on the left talks about a Spring of 2011 completion date and the signage on the right talks about a completion date in the Fall of 2013.

What is not said is that work on the 72nd Street station, in and around this location, is scheduled to continue until early 2015.



12/18/10
btw. 69th & 70th

The worker in this image is using a manual technique known as shielded metal arc welding.

Note - if you happen to come across a worker who is welding do NOT look at the electric arc. The brightness of the weld area can cause inflammation of the cornea and can burn the retina of the eyes. (I took this set of pictures using the variable angle display on my camera, so I never looked directly at the arc.)


12/18/10

The worker is seen here wearing a welding helmet to protect his eyes, face and neck from the ultraviolet and infrared light of the arc, the sparks, and the heat.



12/18/10

Another view of the welder at work, from the other side of the street.



12/18/10
btw. 72nd & 71st - looking NE

A set of workers can be seen here working just below street level.



12/18/10
btw. 82nd & 83rd - looking N

A view of the job site north of 82nd Street. There was no active work taking place at this site on Saturday afternoon.



12/18/10
the SW corner of 83rd Street

Manikins, dressed in black, seemingly watching over the work site at this corner.



12/18/10
near the NW corner of 83rd Street

A collection of ConEd electrical cables under Second Avenue.



12/18/10
87th - looking S

The trench here is being dug for a replacement sewer line.

12/18/10
btw. 91st & 92nd - looking W

A small dog, dressed for the holiday, waits by the fence in front of the work site.



12/18/10
btw. 95th & 96th - looking W

A section of new 48-inch sewer pipe.



12/18/10
between 96th & 97th - looking W

Utility relocation work in this block of Second Avenue continues.



12/18/10
btw. 96th & 97th - looking S

A different view of the same location.



12/18/10
btw. 91st & 92nd - looking W

The Christmas wreath mounted on the side of this Liebherr crane was made by a young friend of the workers.



12/18/10

In this close-up shot you can see that the wreath has been decorated with cardboard cutouts in the shape of a Liebherr crane and the cutterhead of the TBM.


:::::


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

A hearing for 2nd Ave. businesses, but what response?
By Benjamin Kabak
2nd Ave. Sagas - 12/8/10

"Bing Pitches Greater Economic Impact Of Second Avenue Subway Construction"
By Edward-Isaac Dovere
City Hall - 12/9/10

"Learning the Hard Way About Life Across Town"
By Michael M. Grynbaum
The New York Times - 12/16/10

PB Podcast: Women Engineers at PB (3:50)
by Parsons Brinckerhoff
A podcast highlighting the roll of women engineers on the Second Avenue subway project.



"Living, Briefly, Amid Noise and Dust" (2:54)
By Michael M. Brynbaum
The New York Times - 12/16/10