A couple of articles caught my interest while reading some Internet News sites. The topics of both articles were the escalating costs of subway tunnels in New York City. I know somewhat that costs there can rise to crazy heights due to many local factors; it has been 'an expensive place for years'.
The first was a NYTimes article whose headline was "The Most Expensive Mile of Subway track on Earth" by Brian Rosenthal 12/28/2017 { Beauty of this is that it did not seem to hide behind a paywall!}
linked @ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/28/nyregion/new-york-subway-construction-costs.html
FTA:"...The discovery, which occurred in 2010 and was not disclosed to the public, illustrates one of the main issues that has helped lead to the increasing delays now tormenting millions of subway riders every day: The leaders entrusted to expand New York’s regional transit network have paid the highest construction costs in the world, spending billions of dollars that could have been used to fix existing subway tunnels, tracks, trains and signals.
The estimated cost of the Long Island Rail Road project, known as “East Side Access,” has ballooned to $12 billion, or nearly $3.5 billion for each new mile of track — seven times the average elsewhere in the world. The recently completed Second Avenue subway on Manhattan’s Upper East Side and the 2015 extension of the No. 7 line to Hudson Yards also cost far above average, at $2.5 billion and $1.5 billion per mile, respectively..." [emphasis added:SP]
And then there was this article from American Thinker by ED Straker ,titled: "Guess where High School Dropouts can make $400 per hour"
FTA:"...Some of these laborers (those who operate the drills) require some skills, but many others, like the elevator button-pushers, are purely unskilled laborers who don't even need a high school diploma..." "...But maybe the idea of working on subway tunnels, even at $400 an hour, doesn't appeal to you. If you're willing to consider a small pay cut, consider working for the New York transit authority, where the average compensation is $140,000 a year..."
"...You could even work in a ticket booth for about $112,000 a year, even though 83% of all subway fares are sold by machines and workers in ticket booths have nothing to do most of the time and are prevented, by union rules, from helping out in any other part of the station.
Along with interviews with contractors, the documents reveal a dizzying maze of jobs, many of which do not exist on projects elsewhere.
There are "nippers" to watch material being moved around and "hog house tenders" to supervise the break room. Each crane must have an "oiler," a relic of a time when they needed frequent lubrication. Generators and elevators must have their own operators, even though they are automatic.
The agreement for Local 147, the union for the famed "sandhogs" who dig the tunnels, includes a pay rate for most members of $111 per hour in salary and benefits. Weekend overtime pays quadruple – more than $400 per hour.
Some of these laborers (those who operate the drills) require some skills, but many others, like the elevator button-pushers, are purely unskilled laborers who don't even need a high school diploma.
One part of Local 147's deal entitles the union to $450,000 for each tunnel-boring machine used. That is to make up for job losses from "technological advancement," even though equipment has been standard for decades..." NEW YORK... YA Gotta Love it!
One part of Local 147's deal entitles the union to $450,000 for each tunnel-boring machine used. That is to make up for job losses from "technological advancement," even though equipment has been standard for decades..."
NEW YORK... YA Gotta Love it!
Just makes you wonder what the Gateway project is going to end up actually costing.
A cursory scan of the website of "American Thinker" suggests that it is a right-wing periodical with a corresponding anti-union point of view, among other things. I wouldn't be surprised if they pick and choose their facts to support their point of view.
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