Building the Second Avenue Subway line. *

Illustration: Peter Grundy * NYC subway map of the future.New Yorkers are used to waiting for the subway and all, but this is ridiculous. Their first new line in 70 years— the T— is finally getting built. The Second Avenue Subway, as it's known, was proposed in 1929 and has been on the drawing board in this incarnation since 1999. Workers are now rerouting utilities and preparing to assemble a 250-foot-long tunnel-boring machine at 92nd Street. Next June, as part of the $4.3 billion Phase I, it'll begin gnawing its way south through 20 blocks of Manhattan schist (bedrock!) to 72nd, where a new station will be built. Ultimately, after decades of work, the new T Line will unite the Upper and Lower East Sides.

The tunnel-boring machine will cut through 50 feet of Manhatten shist (bedrock) a day.Start Previous: Two New Football Helmets Do Battle Against Concussions Next: 10 Best: Battle Cries — 'By the Power of Greyskull... I Have the Power!'