Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In

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 USA

Advocates Get D.C. Mayor To Release Buried Report On The Potential Benefits Of Congestion Pricing

How many other conversations about congestion pricing across the country are being suppressed — and how many have never even gotten started?

March 19, 2026

Thursday’s Headlines Lift All Boats

Contrary to many drivers' belief, bike lanes don't just benefit a handful of cyclists.

March 19, 2026

Why Some Congresspeople Want to Go Big on Greenways

A new bill would multiply federal funding for walking and biking paths — even as some powerful congresspeople threaten to take away what we've already got.

March 18, 2026

Wednesday’s Headlines Would Walk if We Could

It would be nice if the Trump administration would let us.

March 18, 2026

Opinion: The Federal Railroad Administration’s Proposed Amtrak Restructuring is Worth Considering

The federal push to overhaul Amtrak operations is promising, but it must be done with care

March 18, 2026

Why Transit Advocates Aren’t 100% Behind This Senator’s Bold Bill To Slash Highway Funding

A new Republican bill could bring rampant highway overspending to a halt and slash emissions by one-fifth. But don't get too excited because it would hurt transit, too.

March 17, 2026
See all posts