The Construction of New York Citys Subway System - Case Study Example

?The Construction of New York s Subway System Introduction The New York Subway system is one of the most effective human transport systems in the world. Actually, the subway offers a 24 hours transport service to approximately 4.3 million subway system riders every day and over 1 billion people annually. Indeed, the New York Subway is the world’s seventh busiest rapid railway transport system in the globe where Tokyo’s, Seoul’s, Shanghai’s, Guangzhou’s, and Beijing precede it in annual ridership. The New York City subway system has 468 running stations, entails 21 lines with a total length of 337 Kilometers. The New York City subway system disperses in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, and Bronx (Ruhl Web). Most significantly is the fact that the New York City subway system is not all-underground as only a few tracks run underground with the rest manifesting some levels of elevation (Range 19). The Times Square stands out as the busiest station of the New York City Subway. The City of New York owns the New York City Subway system with further leasing to the New York City Transit Authority for management. Many lines in the subway offer both express and local services where fare payment is usually through the Metro card. However, children and the disabled enjoy free rides and reduced fare respectively. As stated herein, the subway system proves to be cost-efficient in US where the Citizens Budget Commission reported in 2011 affirmed its effectiveness where it records the lowest cost per passenger. This paper will address the construction of the New York City subway system in details. It will equally consider the significant inventions and renovations that have taken place since its first inception. The construction of the New York City subway system entailed a lot of engineering work, masonry, electrical, human and machine labor. As such, apart from requiring well-trained engineers, the construction equally consumed huge capital investment. Indeed, since it was one of its kinds in New York a lot of lobbying, prior planning, legislation, and objective design was necessary in serving the intended purpose of effective transportation. As such, various subsections under the mandate of variant subcontractors undertook the construction of the New York City subway system. The construction process involved excavations, support of railway tracks, and tunnel work. It also included masonry work, plastering, construction, reconstruction of sub-surface structures, restoration of street surface, erection of steel, and painting of tunnel walls (Deyo Web). Consequently, the construction of the NYC subway system adopted five types of construction (The Interborough Transit Company 35-40). This included the construction of the typical subway close to the surface with steel bulb-angle columns supporting the tacks and flat roof and "I" beams for supporting the roof. Then there was the construction of the flat roof typical subway where steel bulb-angle columns support the concrete construction. Additionally, there was the construction of the elevated road on steel viaduct and the concrete lined tunnel that involved concrete lined open cutwork and rock tunnel work. Lastly, the construction of the NYC subway system also encompassed the cast-iron tubes. These modes of construction took place in various sub sections (New York City subway Web). For a fact, the construction of the NYC subway system took many years to come to fulfillment. Notably, the talks on building an underground rail system in New York started as early as 1863. However, the main stakeholders shelved this thought for some time, as it was until later in 1868 that Alfred E. Beach had to rely on the New York City Central Underground Company charter to build a test section of tunnel 350 feet long under Broadway. Subsequently, the Commodore Vanderbilt mandated the New York City Rapid Transit Company to initiate the sub-surface railroad construction in 1872. However, this plan had to wait for the passing of the referendum in 1894 to generate financial support from the New York City and create the Rapid Transit Board. Consequently, the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) got the contract to build the first subway line route running from City Hall to 96th Street (The Interborough Transit Company 23-28) in 1898. This route later split into Broadway to 242nd Street and from Harlem River into the Bronx. The New York City contacted the most qualified engineer, William Barclay Parsons to design a plan for the construction of a NYC subway system route through Brooklyn. Consequently, Parsons developed the "cut-and-cover" technique where digging of a shallow excavation below the street surface took place, and a concrete and steel subsurface built (New York Architecture Web). Moreover, the city had offered bids for constructing the sub way in 1900. John B. McDonald's bid was successful where he proposed to do the work for $35,000,000 with $2,700,000 extra for stations and terminals. The Rapid Transit board adopted the route and construction plan for the Brooklyn extension of the subway on January 1901. The main architects for the project were Heins & Lafarge appointed in 1901 who drew a lot of respect and worldwide recognition (New York Architecture Web). This line was to extend from City Hall down Broadway to the Battery through Brooklyn to Atlantic Avenue. The Manhattan Elevated Railway Company and the Metropolitan Street Railway Company controlled the construction of this line. By October 27, 1904, the IRT, a 9th Ave line was the first subway to start operation formally. This subway system enjoys the best engineering input where is runs through a dense network of building foundations, sewage lines, electric lines, and water systems to derive a convenient transport system. Moreover, this line demonstrates high class engineering works as it has modern skyscrapers, steel frames supporting the roof and sides, waterproof and damp proof roof, a cemented floor, no grade crossings, and the significant inclusion of designated points between the tracks at the various express stations. By 1900, the New York mayor had contracted McDonald to construct the Manhattan-Bronx subway. As such, the IRT expanded its service to the Bronx in 1905 when McDonald finished the Manhattan-Bronx subway. Moreover, in January 1905, the IRT extended the south end road from Brooklyn Bridge to Fulton Street. On July 1905, the construction of the West Farms Division of the Subway started as well as opening of the South Ferry loop station. Subsequently, the Broadway line opened up on March 12, 1906 as well as the Two Hundred and Seventh Street station of the Broadway line in April 1907. On 9 January 1908, the Brooklyn extension of the Subway to Borough Hall also opened its services to the residents. In the same year, the Brooklyn extension to the Atlantic Avenue station opened on May, while the extension to Van Cortlandt Park opened on August 1, 1908. Consequently, the IRT expanded its services to Queens in 1915. McDonald working hand in hand with the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company opened the subway between Brooklyn and Manhattan in 1931 (New York Architecture Web). In 1934, the NYC's Board of Transportation finished the construction of the Eighth Avenue Line. However, in 1940, the NYC decided to purchase the two dominant transport agencies in New York City, the IRT, and Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit (BMT).This was a fundamental step towards the centralization and development of the NYC subway system and elevated lines. As the demand for the New York City subway increased, the construction of the Archer Avenue line in Queens started in 1972. This formed a fundamental station of the NYC subway. Although the IRT construction was synonymous with fatal accidents, property damage, and business disruptions during and after the construction, it was significant in according New York a reliable and cheap urban transit system (Ruhl Web). As seen here in, the construction of the NYC subway involved many processes that were in some way risky to human life. In fact, there have been three serious accidents in the construction of the Manhattan-Bronx Subway where dynamite exploded in 1902 killing six people, injuring125 others and destroying valuable property. In 1916, about 100 people died in Brooklyn marking the worst accident in the construction of the subway. All the same, number of accidents and deaths emanating from the construction of the NYC subway is seemingly insignificant compared to the scope of the project. In conclusion, I find that the NYC subway system is significant in the New York transport sector in. It is faster, reliable, convenient, and cheap. The construction took place in different phases using various contractors, high-class engineers, and many resources. Indeed, all these factors led to the construction of one of the most cost-effective and busy transport system in the world. Most significantly, The NYC subway covers a wide area with many stations, long network, and the 24-hour service. Works Cited Deyo. Subcontractors. Web 26, May 2012. New York Architecture. Notes from the underground in New York. Web 26, May 2012. < http://www.nyc-architecture.com/ARCH/Notes-subway.htm> New York City subway. Types and Methods of Construction. Web 26, May 2012.< http://www.nycsubway.org/articles/irtbook_ch2.html> Range, Tom. New York City Subways. London: Arcadia Publishing, 2002. Print. Ruhl, Arthur. Building New York's Subway. Web 26, May 2012.< http://www.nycsubway.org/articles/buildingsubway.html> The Interborough Transit Company. Irt Interborough Rapid Transit / the New York City Subway: Its Construction and Equipment. London: Lulu.com, 2007. Print. Read More