100-Ton Machine to Extend NYC Subway Line

A 100-ton machine will begin cutting through hard rock underneath midtown Manhattan to build a $2 billion subway extension on the Far West Side.

New York City officials lowered the tip of the tunnel boring machine into an assembly chamber Thursday to begin the next phase of the No. 7 extension. Two of the machines will be used to excavate two 7,100-foot tunnels between West 25th Street and Times Square.

It will take two months to assemble each machine. The tunnels could be finished by the middle of next year.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has said the "7" extension will rejuvenate the underdeveloped far West Side. It is contingent on a massive redevelopment of the Hudson rail yards along the waterfront. The entire extension is expected to open in 2013.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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