NEW YORK (AP) — A 127-year-old water primary beneath New York’s Times Square gave approach early Tuesday, flooding midtown streets and the town’s busiest subway station.
The 20-inch (half-meter) pipe gave approach beneath fortieth Street and Seventh Avenue at 3 a.m., and rapidly delivered a moist reminder of the perils of growing old infrastructure beneath the town’s crowded streets.
The speeding water was just a few inches deep on the road, however movies posted on social media confirmed the flood cascading into the Times Square subway station down stairwells and thru air flow grates. The water turned the trenches that carry the subway tracks into mini rivers and soaked prepare platforms.
It took DEP crews about an hour to seek out the supply of the leak and shut the water off, mentioned Rohit Aggarwala, commissioner of New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection.
The excavation left a giant gap and a muddy mess in a single metropolis intersection the place employees dug with heavy gear to get to the damaged part of pipe.
Surrounding streets have been open by rush hour, however subway service was suspended by a lot of Manhattan on the 1, 2 and three strains, which run instantly beneath the damaged pipe. Service was restored with delays by noon.
Only two native companies have been with out left with out water firstly of the work day, Aggarwala mentioned.
New York City has about 6,800 miles price of water mains — sufficient pipe to stretch from Times Square to Tokyo — and has spent $1.9 billion previously three years upgrading outdated water and sewer strains. Breaks occur someplace within the metropolis virtually day by day, although the town mentioned the 402 water primary breaks final yr have been the second lowest quantity on document, and higher than common for a U.S. metropolis if the dimensions of the system is taken into consideration.
The forged iron pipes used as water mains within the metropolis within the late 18th century, just like the one which broke, have been identified for his or her sturdiness, however even these have a typical lifespan of 120 years.
Besides previous water and sewer pipes and subway tunnels, the bottom beneath Manhattan additionally comprises a steam power system and {an electrical} system that depend on parts buried many many years in the past.
Breakdowns can sometimes be spectacular. In 2007, an 83-year-old steam pipe exploded close to Grand Central Terminal, sending a towering geyser of scalding vapor and dirt into the air, swallowing a tow truck and killing one particular person.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”