This winter has been harsh across the Northeast’s infrastructure. Beyond being the nation’s most densely-populated region, it seemed hardly a week could go by without another dumping of snow this year.
The sheer amount of work needed to keep up with the region’s commuters, not to mention the massive influx of tourists, particularly in New York, is practically impossible to fully quantify. And then of course there’s the biggest conundrum of all—it all needs to be paid for.
Planning for the Second Avenue Subway in Manhattan dates back nearly, if not more than, 100 years. Starts and stops have been a result of financial shortcomings, namely the Great Depression, but also in the 1970s. (One way that the significance of this can be measured is that with progress picking up again, the project has stirred up enough fascination for New Yorkers to inspire two separate blogs tracing its history and following its construction.) Now that the project has moved forward with Phase One, it goes unsaid how unfortunate it would be if the following three phases needed another 30 to 80 years to materialize.
Keeping on top of funding for major underground construction projects is as much the responsibility of the tunnelling industry as it is for those trying to secure the money. Thankfully the Great Recession of the late naughties didn’t add another delay to the Second Avenue’s legacy of stalls. Obviously not all other tunnelling projects were as fortunate.
Is there a better way to illustrate just how much the costs of construction escalate while a group of citizens hems and haws? Beyond increasingly showing clients the potential costs of prolonging a project, there is hopefully an option to reach out to hesitant voters. The Surgeon General has plastered cigarette packages with (albeit not so strongly-worded) warnings; perhaps cars should undergo similar treatment.
Warning: Building a surface level solution can harm your commute. Or metro cars, Warning: Maintaining the status quo will add 150 people per car per journey. Or politicians, Warning: Elected official may not recall saying any of this later on, if necessary.
To help you keep on top of things going on in the underground construction industry check out page 29 of this issue; T&TNA has added a Dates & Events page focused on North America, plus major events related to tunnelling worldwide.
Nicole Robinson
