Giant Machine In Place To Bore New Pittsburgh TunnelPOSTED: 11:26 am EST November 20,
2007 PITTSBURGH -- A 1.2 million-pound machine that will bore a tunnel under the Allegheny River on Pittsburgh's North Shore went in the ground Tuesday afternoon.The tunnel-boring machine was put 55 feet below the ground near PNC Park and tested before it begins work on what will be the North Shore Connector.Crews will test the machine over the next two months and make any adjustments they deem necessary. Full-scale digging should begin in January.When completed, the tunnel will link downtown to the North Side via the Port Authority's trolley line.The tunnel will be about 45 feet below the surface of the Allegheny River.The work is supposed to be finished sometime in 2011 at a total cost of about $435 million. Much of that money is coming from federal grants.The extension of the trolley line is expected to serve more than 4 million people a year.About 240,000 riders use the T on an average day. Related Links: More Allegheny County NewsGet RSS | E-Mail Alerts Copyright 2007 by ThePittsburghChannel. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. |
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