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How are NYC underwater tunnels built?

Today, underwater tunnels are often created with humongous tunnel-boring machines (TBMs) — sometimes called moles. These machines cost millions of dollars, but they can create large tunnels in a very short time. A circular plate with disk cutters rotates to cut through rock as the machine inches forward slowly.



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Tunnel workers (affectionately known as 'sandhogs') dug through the mud by pneumatically pushing cylindrical shields through the river bottom. Those shields held back the earth, making way for construction of the thick tunnel walls, built of cast iron rings filled with concrete.

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Many of the disused subway stations and tunnels running under NYC are closed to the public for safety reasons, but there are still ways to see them. In some cases, you can catch glimpses of disused subway tunnels or subway platforms while riding past on currently operating lines.

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Cappadocia city, located in central Turkey, is home to no less than 36 underground cities, and at a depth of approx. 85 m, Derinkuyu is the deepest.

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