New York knew for a foresightful time that a big stormcould flood and collapse the underground system , which isexactly what chance with Sandy . Yet city officials did nothing about it . But now , after all the suffering , we ’ll finally be prepared .
https://gizmodo.com/sandy-could-really-flood-the-new-york-subway-system-5955689
With an approximate $ 50 billion misplace due to Sandy—$5 billion on transportation infrastructure alone — the MTA has sorely found out that not seat in bar is a stack more expensive than hoping you will be prosperous . Something that was as stupid then as it is obvious now .
gratefully , the MTA is actively looking for ways to lick this . And when you wait at what they ’re planning , you ’ll bang your head against the wall . Not because they are bad ideas — they are upright — but because you will need to know how the inferno they did n’t have these standard in place since Irene reminded us that everything could go to hell . Heck , MTA workers were expect for preventive beat as far back as 2006 :
“ To give you an approximation about how bad this could be , some of the oldest heart in the NYCTA organization were purchase second - hand from the constructor of the Panama Canal . I worked for the TA many eld ago and even then the pumps were considered a serious job . ” The Panama Canal was finished in 1914 .
Giant inflatable bladders
One of the resolution , the NY Daily News account , is inflatable bladders . Basically , a jumbo inflatable cud that would be deploy to key points of the subway tunnel all over the city . Before the storm hits , train serve will block up , and the bladder will be billow , perfectly cover the tunnel and avoiding the flood .
It ’s an incredibly obvious idea , but one that mould apparently could puzzle out dead . It was developed by engineer at West Virginia University using funding from the Department of Homeland Security . Called the Resilient Plug Project , the price of the plugs is $ 400,000 a dad . That seems expensive , but is nothing compare to the money these will hold open . call up : the MTA ’s estimated Sandy damage was five billion dollars . According to its creators , the Resilient Plug Project will withstand a thousand Imperial gallon per minute , according to their late mental testing .
Steel doors
Do n’t remember that these solution will make the city flood - proof . utter toTimes Free Press , Rice University ’s Phil Bedient “ you really have to go with a series of level of protection . ” Bedient , who worked on a submarine door system to protect the university ’s aesculapian campus tunnel , enjoin that you have to pick your spots carefully and , even then , “ you really ca n’t protect everything . ”
We do n’t need full protection , though . We want system of rules that are good enough to foreclose major destruction , and to get the city transferral organization back up and running within a few 60 minutes . That ’s what these bladder and submarine door can do . And we need them now , before the next sandlike strikes .
newfangled yorkSandy
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