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| Re: Myrtle Avenue El (1129360) | |||
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Re: Myrtle Avenue El |
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Posted by Joe Saitta on Tue Jan 3 21:30:12 2012, in response to Re: Myrtle Avenue El, posted by randyo on Tue Jan 3 19:37:42 2012. Yes, I realize that, but you said the correct words, i.e., "where possible." I'm not a structural engineer (or any engineer for that matter), but I believe the weight of the subway cars would come into play here.According to the Annual Report of the Department of Bridges of the City of New York for 1913, of which I have an original copy in mint condition, the following information on each East River bridge in operation at that time is presented on page 17: Fixed Load Per Lineal Foot: Brooklyn - 8,000 lbs. Manhattan - 23,600 lbs. Williamsburg - 16,620 lbs. Queensboro - 32,200 lbs. Moving Load Per Lineal Foot: Brooklyn - 3,400 lbs., Manhattan - 16,000 lbs. Williamsburg - main 7,500 lbs., side 16,000 lbs. Queensboro - 16,000 lbs., Fixed Load for Entire Structure: Brooklyn - 13,820 tons Manhattan - 34,460 tons Williamsburg - 23,210 tons Queensboro - 60,000 tons Moving Load for Entire Structure: Brooklyn - 5,880 tons Manhattan - 23,360 tons Williamsburg - 15,560 tons Queensboro - 29,800 tons Total Load for Entire Structure: Brooklyn - 19,700 tons Manhattan - 57,820 tons Williamsburg - 38,700 tons Queensboro - 89,800 tons. It appears from these published facts that the Queensboro Bridge has the greatest load carrying capacity. At one time, it had four streetcar tracks serving nine lines on headways whose frequency could be measured in seconds, and two rapid transit tracks. So it would have to be first determined, if this plan were to be considered, would the route be a BMT or IRT route? Remember the BMT already has its 60th Street Tunnel which is also connected to the BMT/IND route from Queens Plaza. But if the Steinway Tubes were to be closed, even temporarily, the best that could be done would be to terminate the 7 Line, as it stands now, at either Queens Plaza or Hunterspoint Avenue, with perhaps a massive bus shuttle from that location to Manhattan. This isn't an easily workable solution, in my opinion. Another alternative for the 7 Line if it were necessary to close the Steinway Tubes would be to reconstruct the IRT Line at least over the Queensboro Bridge to a temporary (or perhaps permanent) terminal at 59th Street and Second Avenue. There is plenty of room to do this and I'd say that at least 75% of the original IRT infrastructure is still there, making such a possibility most likely feasible. Of course, this would mean sacrificing two auto lanes on the upper deck of the Queensboro Bridge, but mass transit must come first. As time goes on, and as the Steinway Tubes are continually aging, I'd be reasonably certain that in the future major a rehab of these tunnels will have to take place, most likely requiring at least some shutting down of those tubes. |
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