Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Infrastructure

Touring the East Side Access Tunnel, Surrounded By Schist

This morning I took a tour of the MTA's newly completed East Side Access tunnel 140 feet below Midtown Manhattan. My laptop is about to run out of batteries and, of course, I left my power cord at home. (It's a good thing I'm only in charge of running a blog and not, say, a 22-foot diameter, 850-ton tunnel boring machine.) So I'm just going to publish these photos with minimal text. I'll fill in the details later. Warning: If you're not a serious infrastructure geek, you might just want to skip this post altogether.

img_5664-traynor.jpg

Joe Trainor, MTA Capital Construction

16-flights.jpg

Sixteen flights down.

dark-tunnel.jpg

Reminds me of a Merle Travis song.

img_5725-man-car.jpg

The "man car." Not the fanciest press junket.

workers-tunnel.jpg

Heading southbound towards Grand Central.

curve.jpg

Left curve end. Right curve start. 

img_5724-digger.jpg

Digger.

img_5682-welder.jpg

Blow torch.

img_5687-schist.jpg

Manhattan schist.

img_5714-sandhog.jpg

Sandhogs.

img_5703-drilltip.jpg

Drill tip.

img_5695-hoseguy.jpg

 Drill tip and worker.

Back to 63rd Street and 2nd Avenue in all of its sweltering, stylish, SUV-choked glory.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

DOT Boss Defends Adams’s ‘Vision Zero’ Record As Agency Fights A Bike Lane in Court

Traffic fatalities are down and the DOT is taking a victory lap — even as it argues against a protected bike lane in court.

July 2, 2025

Cyclist Arrested After Crash with Electric ‘One-wheel’-Style Unicycle

Carolyn Backus is charged with fleeing the scene of a crash causing serious injury, but the details are murky.

Wednesday’s Headlines: Return of Summer Streets Edition

Summer Streets is back and bigger than ever. Plus more news.

July 2, 2025

How Will Mamdani Govern? His Earlier MTA Advocacy Gives Some Hints

Mamdani spent his initial years as a state assemblyman cultivating relationships in and around the MTA while crafting his vision for "fast and free buses."

July 2, 2025

Brooklyn Judge Once Again Declines to Rip Up Bedford Ave. Protected Bike Lane… For Now

Well-connected lawyer Frank Seddio argued against the Bedford Avenue protected bike lane in court on Tuesday.

Money for Something: Funding OK’d, But Details Missing For ‘Dept. Of Sustainable Delivery’

The mayor got the Council to sign off on $6.1 million for the long-awaited “Department of Sustainable Delivery." But what's it mean? No one is talking.

July 1, 2025
See all posts