First tunneling machines reaches future L.A. Metro Wilshire/La Cienega subway station

[marmar]

The first tunnel boring machine (TBM), named Elsie, broke through to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (L.A. Metro) Wilshire/La Cienega subway station in Beverly Hills.

It is the first of two TBMs that will reach this last station on Section 1 of the L.A. Metro D Line (Purple) Extension project.

Tunneling for the first four-mile section of the subway project is now two-thirds complete. More than 90 percent of the tunnels have been mined safely and L.A. Metro anticipates completing tunnel mining this summer. Excavation for all three subway station boxes beneath Wilshire Boulevard has been completed.

Elsie, the 1,000-ton, 400-foot long TBM started west at the Wilshire/Fairfax station on May 29, 2020, and broke through to the Wilshire/La Cienega station site about one mile away on Feb. 25. L.A. Metro’s first TBM arrived at Wilshire/Fairfax on April 4, 2020. .............(more)

https://www.masstransitmag.com/rail/infrastructure/press-release/21212376/los-angeles-county-metropolitan-transportation-authority-metro-first-tunneling-machines-reaches-future-la-metro-wilshirela-cienega-subway-station

[Iliyah]

1. Still shakes head . . . .

being a earthquake prone state.

[SoCalNative]

4. San Francisco has had the BART for a long time

and it hasn't seemed to have any major issues due to earthquake activity.

[AllaN01Bear]

2. good . those things are huge .

[abqtommy]

3. Back in 1967 I was freshly graduated from high school in Arizona and headed for

college in California. I stopped in Wickenburg AZ to pick up a classmate of mine who was
traveling with me. I met his mother who worked as a housekeeper for the owners of some
very expensive property. These were wealthy people and in talking she told me that her male boss had developed a tunneling machine that had become in great demand. She proudly showed us drawings and photos of this marvelous equipment. The photo shown
here in the original op is that equipment!

Besides that, part of this pleasant visit was spent playing with the owners' two pedigreed
boxer dogs who were very sweet. Thanks for the memories!

[msongs]

5. gas from the La Brea tar pits would explode the tunnels! that's what they said 20 yrs ago

when the subway line was being proposed. looks like they solved that problem