"Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat in his third term, complained to reporters last week of a “transportation industrial complex,” made up of consultants and contractors, that benefit from the M.T.A. doing things the way they always have."
yes, and led by the TIC man in charge... Mr. Cuomo himself. so, now the way the MTA does things is a problem. now. after years of your dierct mismanagement.
which one is it Mr. Cuomo? are you or are you not in charge of the MTA? seems to me you are (and have said so)...but only when bright new shiny objects are presented. well, the subway, like most infrastructure is old and need of maintenance... not anything flashy. so your dithering for political purposes is a real boon to all of us who rely on this system.
for your continued mismanagement of the NYC subways alone, I'll never vote for you.
1
At best this is a band aid. The fix will probably last as long as this Cuomo fool remains in the public eye before the tunnels infrastructure damaged by salt water due to Hurricane Sandy start caving in.
4
Hurricane Sandy was over 6 years ago. How come it's taken this long to apply this band aid?
4
If such a solutions was known about say 4 years ago, but dismissed as not something worth pursuing, what was the reasoning, and why wasn't it publicly reported back then?
Also if this composite patching is only going to last 40 years is that akin to the subway tile jobs that haven't lasted 20? Or is it really a 40 year minimum.
I find it very unlikely that a team of engineers (no matter how well intentioned) could work out a new plan in 3 weeks to replace a plan that was years in the making. UNLESS there was something very wrong with the old plan and it should have been rejected long ago.
Fiber reinforced composites are hardly new, nor is the idea of running electrical conduit on the walls of a tunnel. Look in the basement of any large 40 year old office building and you'll find new conduit on the walls that provides services not installed when the building was built.
3
The people who criticize this plan do not understand the benefits of using fiber reinforcement (composites) for the repairs to the bench walls. FRP is a great solution and is being used around the world to rehabilitate old concrete and masonry structures at a fraction of the cost of rebuilding. Due to the high strength of the FRP, the repaired structure is often stronger than the original.
2
@Russell Elkin
Could you cite examples of composite use from other subway tunnels anywhere in the world?
Also please make sure your data includes composites that have been exposed to at least 5 years of daily vibration by basing trains.
"Due to the high strength of the FRP, the repaired structure is often stronger than the original."
The strength of composites isn't the question (I imagine) but will they remain adhered to the remaining concrete is the more apt question.
1
Why can't we just close the L for 8-10 months instead? I think the choice between a longer nights/weekends construction scenario was floated and those affected preferred a complete shutdown with a shorter timeline.
1
The MTA has chosen a practical repair over boondoggle that hurts tens of thousands of people! Its a MIRACLE!
1
@JoeMarra1
The MTA hasn't approved the plan that Cuomo introduced last week.
1