Quote:
Originally Posted by ILNY
So there will be no excavation, rock blasting or foundation level for this tower ? 35 HY will be constructed on caissons above the rail tracks?
|
Correct.
The excavation is the drilling of those caissons with the yellow caisson drills (there are at least 3 caisson drills in the East Rail Yard) with the vertical masts. The bottoms of the caissons are socketed into the bedrock, which slopes generally downwards (gets deeper) as you get closer to the Hudson River.
The MTA's Patrick Cashin took a bunch of photos ~2 months ago that shows a drilled, but not filled, caisson at the HY site. When he took the photos they (MTA & Tutor-Perini) had not temporarily closed that sorta central stripe of tracks that is presently closed and being used by 3 caisson drills:
7.9.2014
MTA/Patrick Cashin
"Construction at Hudson Yards
Giant cranes and boring machines work in tight quarters with the Long Island Rail Road’s 24/7 operations at the LIRR west side storage yard to construct the platform that will support the office towers, apartments and shopping center of a new neighborhood being constructed by the Related Companies at 10th Avenue between 30th and 33rd streets on Manhattan’s west side. Simultaneously a concrete casing as route protection for Amtrak’s future trans-Hudson tunnel is being constructed. Photo: Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick Cashin" https://www.flickr.com/photos/mtaphotos/14815015813/
You can scroll at the link above to see photos of the 4 drills, closed tracks, construction barriers, THICK steel columns with studs for concrete, etc.. There has been substantial progress in the caisson drilling and overbuild erection since the photos were taken in early July