Underwater tunnel to Manhattan leaks after contractor accidentally drills through it

NEW YORK (AP) — An underwater tunnel that passes beneath New York City’s East River sprung a leak Wednesday after a city contractor mistakenly drilled a hole through it, sending streams of water into the heavily used passage as officials scrambled to plug the opening and block off traffic.

The accidental puncture came at around 12:30 p.m. on the Manhattan side of the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, which carries nearly 100,000 drivers into and out of the heart of the city each day.

Cathy Sheridan, the president of MTA Bridges and Tunnels, said the commercial drilling company inadvertently bore a 2.5-inch (6.3-cm) hole through the tunnel’s cast iron lining, allowing water to seep through the exhaust duct and into the tube.

“There are many redundancies in the tunnel but, you know, when someone drills through all those layers, it’s going to cause a leak,” Sheridan said at a press conference.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/underwater-tunnel-manhattan-leaks-contractor-224259155.html