“Second Avenue Subway Project Causes 50% Rise in Prices” – New York Times, September 2, 1929

The idea for a Second Avenue line was first brought up in 1920 when NYC’s public transit was at maximum capacity moving around 1.3 billion riders per year having doubled since the pre-war years. When an official plan was introduced in September 1929, home prices increased 50% almost overnight. However, because of the Great Depression, WWII, and then the Korean War; the city did not break ground until 1972. But then in 1975 the project was abruptly stopped when the city ran out of money. Revived again in the mid-nineties, construction on the current line started in 2007.

Proposed Second Avenue line in June 1950. (Courtesy of New York Transit Museum)

“But it is highly improbable that the Second Avenue subway… will ever materialize.” – New York Times, January 17, 1957

Aside from the financial and political reasons that delayed the train for a century, the fact is that it is much more difficult to construct a new subway line in today’s New York than it was in the 1920s. When New York’s first subway line opened in 1904 there were less people, less buildings, and less regulations. At that time, crews would use the “cut and cover” method where they would close the road, dig up the street, and then cover it back up when finished – a feat that would be nearly impossible in today’s bustling Manhattan.

“Ground was broken yesterday for the Second Avenue subway.” – New York Times, October 28, 1972

In today’s New York, the city must use explosions (video) to help make way for the huge boring machines, reinforced with high-strength steel, that are able to cut underneath the foundation while cars and people are left undisturbed on the surface. Running 24 hours per day, these tunnel boring machines can dig around 50-60 feet per day leaving a huge underground path for the trains.

Second Avenue subway tunnel, May 21, 2015. (Photo courtesy of MTA)

While it is obvious that steel would be used in these projects, the sheer amount is astounding. From the tunnel boring machine to the steel wheels that ride on the steel tracks to the stainless steel subway cars — steel is everywhere. In fact, it was the advances made in steel technology in the 1880s that made New York’s first subway a reality. After the great blizzard of 1888 shut down city streets and brought down the electric power grid, the city started to make efforts to put things underground. In addition, the same advances in steel provided for taller and taller buildings that brought more and more people; so, the city needed a new form of transportation that could move everyone from their homes to their jobs. The NYC subway system started in 1904 with just 28 stations – it now has 468 stations running a total distance of 1,055 km (656 mi).

From the steel beams to the steel tracks to the escalators carrying passengers – steel is everywhere. (Photo courtesy of MTA)

Subways have redefined urban life in the modern era. This feat of engineering, like so many other urban wonders, is only possible because of the steel used to dig, build, and operate the subways. Watch the short film below (11:31) to see how the Second Avenue line began – and how it ended 97 years later.

*Cover photo courtesy of MTA

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Thanks to its strong tensile properties, steel is a very practical material, as it can be reused again and again, from one product to the next, while consistently maintaining its inherent qualities. In fact, according to the most recent data compiled by the Steel Recycling Institute (SRI), approximately 80% of steel used today has been previously recycled.

Eco-friendly and Economical Benefits

But durability isn’t the only thing that makes recycling steel so valuable. It’s eco-friendly and cost efficient, too. So much so that it takes 74% less energy to recycle steel than it does to make it from raw materials – enough to power almost a sixth of America’s homes for a year!

It’s also cheaper to reprocess steel than to mine iron ore, or to create new steel, which is an added bonus in today’s budget-conscious society.

How It Works

Typically, when a manufacturing product is no longer considered valuable to its owner, or the metal of a structure meets the end stages of its life, its steel components are picked apart as scraps. The scraps are then melted in high-temperature furnaces, which in turn liquefies the steel and burns off any remaining impurities. Once pure, the liquid metal is molded into new products, such as tools or engines.

Recently, however, some very clever minds have taken the way we use recycled steel to a whole new level.

Subway Cars Turned Underwater Reefs

Along the eastern seaboard, retired New York subway cars have found a new home on the floors of the ocean. And while it may seem that dumping these mammoth vehicles into the sea would be anything but helpful to the ecosystem, the trains that once transported New Yorkers across the Big Apple are transforming into habitats of millions of fish.

The project, which aimed to help the environment, was launched about 10 years ago by New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).

After being decommissioned, cleaned and stripped of all removable items, some 25,000 cars were transported by barges and dumped off the coast. Although the campaign is no longer in operation, the cars have since been transformed into artificial reefs.

These unlikely habitats continue to provide plenty of space for invertebrates to live, and act as a hideaway for fish seeking protection from predators. The reef also functions as a source of food, offering more viable conditions than the sand bottom for the growth of various nutrients and organisms.

Old Bridge Gets New Life

While the steel which was once used on land is now being repurposed in water on the East Coast, the reverse is happening on the opposite end of the country.

After 77 years of linking San Francisco to Oakland, California’s Bay Bridge remains to be an icon of the region. Its structure, however, was deemed “earthquake unsafe” after a 1989 quake destroyed part of it. In 2013, its replacement opened to traffic and plans to deconstruct the defective bridge were set.

When scraps of the 58,000-ton steel structure were sold and distributed around the country and abroad after its first of three deconstruction phases, members of the community spoke up, demanding that parts be set aside to be reused in the area.

The Oakland Museum, in coordination with the Bay Area Transportation Authority (BATA), began to accept proposals for how the steel should be refurbished. Thus far, proposals have included everything from bus stops to rainwater catchment systems to sculptures that will retain the visual essence of the original bridge.

In a time when recycling is more important than ever, reprocessed steel is being reincarnated into structures of both function and form. Whether it be through urban sculptures or underwater habitats, recycled steel will continue to transform the way we see, use and better the world.