Jul 10, 2008 9:02 am US/Eastern
Port Authority Tunnel Boring Delayed
Reporting
Jim Lokay
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
Completion on the first of two tunnels underneath the Allegheny River has been delayed several hours by an equipment malfunction.
The Port Authority of Allegheny County says a broken bearing on a large slurry line was discovered this morning, just hours before the tunnel boring machine was set to break through Stanwix Street in downtown Pittsburgh.
Spokeswoman Judi McNeil tells KDKA-TV that a replacement part must be retrieved from Ohio, but expects the drilling to still wrap up sometime this afternoon.
McNeil originally said the machine was to arrive around 10:15 A.M. this morning.
Tunneling started in January. Officials had expected the process to take four months, but say they encountered problems along the way. The machine was shut down for several weeks in late winter when a large tree underneath the Allegheny River became entangled in the TBM's large cutting head.
Once the machine breaks through, a large crane will pick up the unit, turn it around, and prepare for the drilling of the second tunnel.
In the meantime, Stanwix Street remains closed for three to six weeks.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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