Tunnel Number 3 – New York, New York - Atlas Obscura
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Tunnel Number 3

Manhattan, New York

Deep under Manhattan is the largest construction project in city history. So far, the project has taken the lives of 23 workers, or "a man a mile." 

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NYC DEP (NYC DEP)
NYC DEP (NYC DEP)
The tunnel, still under construction Mary Altaffer (Mary Altaffer)
Tunnel boring machine water-technology.net (water-technology.net)
City Water Tunnel No. 3 NYC DEP (NYC DEP)
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The state of New York began digging this tunnel in 1970 to provide water to the city from its upstate source.

When completed, the tunnel will be over 60 miles long, snaking across the city from Yonkers across Central Park, the East River and Roosevelt Island and ending up in Astoria, Queens. The construction project cost over $6 billion and was not finished until 2020. The costs for the ambitious project have already been high with 23 workers losing their lives to the tunnel, averaging about one life each mile.

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Published
April 4, 2013
Updated
March 31, 2022
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