Injuries to Shields.
There were only two instances of damage to the essential structural features of the shields. The most serious was in Tunnel D where the cutting edge at the bottom of the shield was forced up a slightly sloping ledge of rock. A bow was formed in the steel casting which was markedly increased with the next few shoves. Work was suspended, and a heavy cast-steel patch, filling out the bow, was attached to the bent segments, as shown in [Fig. 2, Plate LXXIII]. No further trouble was experienced with the deformed portion. The other instance was in Tunnel B, from Long Island, where a somewhat similar but less serious accident occurred and was treated in a like manner.
Bulkheads.—At Manhattan, bulkheads had to be built near the shafts before the tunnels could be put under pressure. After 500 ft. of tunnel had been built on each line, the second bulkheads were constructed. The air pressure between the first and second bulkheads was then reduced to between 15 and 20 lb. When the shields had been advanced for 1,500 ft., the third set of bulkheads was built. Nearly all the broken plates which were removed were located between the first and third bulkheads at Manhattan. Before undertaking this operation, the doors of the locks in the No. 3 bulkheads were reversed to take pressure from the west. By this means it was possible to carry on the work of dismantling the shields under comparatively low pressure simultaneously with the removal of the broken plates.
At Long Island City the roofs of the caissons served the purpose of the No. 1 bulkheads. Two other sets of bulkheads were erected, the first about 500 ft. and the second about 1,500 ft. from the shafts.