The project to create a Second Avenue subway line has been stretching on for nearly five years on New York’s Upper East Side. Those wondering what’s taking so long can visit the the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s exhibition “Breaking Ground,” a photography show detailing the agency’s ongoing major infrastructure projects.
The photos were taken by Patrick J. Cashin and will be part of a year-long exhibit at the Bowling Green Station in the Financial District of Manhattan. (Additional images are available here, on a photo blog entitled The East Side Access Project).
While it’s probably of little comfort to the businesses shuttered by the massive construction project, the images do at least show the incredible scope of what the MTA is trying to do.
The photographs in the Bowling Green show were taken deep beneath New York City, and outline the construction being done in the creation of the Second Avenue Subway, the 7 line extension to Manhattan’s west side and the East Side Access Project that will link the Long Island Railroad to Grand Central Terminal.
While the pictures show that the MTA is still a long ways away from completing these projects, Mr. Cashin is proud to be part of a process.
“You can feel history being made when you’re behind the lens deep beneath the street, surrounded by massive equipment and workers,” Mr. Cashin said in a statement. “It’s a great subject for a photographer, as I get to create a record of something that will become part of the life of the city for generations to come.”
