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Two Metro subway stations may be shut down
Apparently the politicians are completely clueless and worthless in Washington, as they are using contractors looking for a make work program. Guess what? This is it. Patch it. A few years later, patch it again. Rinse. Repeat. You get the picture? The old Chicago Tunnel System has been in place for over 100 years. The only time it had a significant leak was when the contractor replacing the piles at Kinzie failed to properly read a blueprint and follow directions. Even then, that old tunnel was so well constructed it took six months of neglect before you could catch fish at Marshall Field’s. To add insult to injury, that old tunnel system was built the old fashioned way. Without liners and reinforcements.
When Metro was built, managers were aware of this geological problem. They rejected installing the rubber lining due to the expense. Now they’re seeing the results of their folly.
Is it spring water? What is water quality?
Hopefully these two stations will be fixed; as anyone who has ever been to Washington, DC knows, Metro is the only sane way of getting around there.
For most of the history of this great nation there was a great deal of pride in our infrastructure and public works. Whether it was the construction of the Hoover Dam or county courthouses and libraries, rural electrification, putting a man on the moon, or building the Panama Canal or the transcontinental railroad, there were enough resources allocated to do a job correctly. Today, we live in a much different time, and if resources for infrastructure are available at all, they are often enough for only minimal quality. You get what you pay for.
That is not to say that everything from the past succeeded gloriously: there were indeed some spectacular failures in the past, particularly with tunnel construction. One difference is that today we thankfully have safety regulations, so that our workers are almost never injured or killed on the job. That was not the case until fairly recently.
Jeffrey DC has multiple streams running underground plus it is prone to minor earthquakes plus the soil is not that stable. You have areas that are very deep underground and others that are close to the surface. On top of that you have constant vibration from trains running through the area which effects the area. Stuff leaks all the time and you do have to go back in and fix it.
I agree with Lawrence and, probably for the 1st time (gasp!), Mr. Guse
It’s not the same managers running METRO today that made the decision in 1984 to cut costs and not line the tunnel. The ones who made that decision are long gone (retired) from the system, if not deceased. We are seeing the results of their folly in 2014, not them. I am sure that today’s managers and commuters wish that the tunnel had been done correctly the first time, I certainly do. A lot of people complain about having to spend tax money on infrastructure construction and repairs, then turn around and complain about things not working.