--SUPERS --
:37-:43
Ali Velshi
New York

:55-:58
Dr. Michael Horodniceanu
President, MTA Capital Construction

1:14-1:21
Tom Peyton
Parsons Brinckerhoff, 2nd Ave Subway Construction Mgr.

1:32-1:36
Dr. Michael Horodniceanu
President, MTA Capital Construction

1:48-1:53
Tom Peyton
Parsons Brinckerhoff, 2nd Ave Subway Construction Mgr.

2:28-2:34
Dr. Michael Horodniceanu
President, MTA Capital Construction

2:41-2:44
Tom Peyton
Parsons Brinckerhoff, 2nd Ave Subway Construction Mgr.

--LEAD IN --
A billion dollars a stop.
That's the cost of a massive project to build a new subway line in New York City.
Ali Velshi takes a tour of the 2nd Avenue subway project, to find out why it's so costly and time-consuming.
--REPORTER PKG-AS FOLLOWS --
BACKHOE EXCAVATORS THAT CAN COST 700-THOUSAND DOLLARS A PIECE. MAN LIFTS THAT SELL FOR UP TO HALF A MILLION BUCKS. SEE THAT HYDRAULIC DRILL JUMBO? THEY CAN GO FOR 800-GRAND A POP. THESE ARE THE MACHINES OF MODERN DAY CIVIL ENGINEERING. NEW YORK CITY HAS THEM WORKING FULL SPEED AHEAD ON ITS NEW SECOND AVENUE SUBWAY LINE.
Ali (standup): SUBWAYS ARE EXPENSIVE. JUST TO GIVE YOU A SENSE OF PERSPECTIVE -- WAY BACK WHEN, THE FIRST SUBWAY IN MANHATTAN WAS 21 MILES AND IT COST 35 MILLION DOLLARS. THIS ONE IS A MILE AND A HALF FOR 4.5 BILLION. THAT'S MORE THAN A BILLION DOLLARS A STOP.
AND THAT'S JUST FOR PHASE ONE.
WE WENT DIGGING TEN STORIES BELOW MANHATTAN TO FIND OUT WHAT GOES INTO THE BOTTOM LINE ON A NEW SUBWAY LINE.
It's a bargain. That machine is a bargain. Eight-hundred-thousand dollars a pop.
THE MOST MASSIVE PIECE OF EQUIPMENT USED IS THE TUNNEL BORING MACHINE. THE LAST TIME NEW YORK BUILT A SUBWAY, IT USED THE CUT-AND-COVER METHOD, DIGGING FROM STREET-LEVEL. BORING IS MUCH MORE EFFICIENT AND IT DISRUPTS LIFE ABOVE GROUND A LOT LESS.
The one that did this is 22 foot in diameter, a little over two stories tall. It can go on average about 50 foot a day.
ONE OF THESE THINGS COSTS 12 MILLION DOLLARS AND REQUIRES 20 PEOPLE TO OPERATE IT. AT FIFTY FEET A DAY, BORING TWO, MILE AND A HALF TUNNELS TAKES A LONG TIME.
This is a linear project. You must do the tunnels before you do this.
AND HIGHLY SPECIALIZED LABORERS ARE ON THE ONES DOING THAT. SANDHOGS, OR URBAN MINERS, WORK ALONGSIDE OPERATING ENGINEERS, WHO DRIVE AND MAINTAIN MACHINERY.
On average, we pay a guy about a thousand dollars a day. And that's base salary, plus benefits.
IT'S PUTTING PEOPLE TO WORK IN A TOUGH ECONOMY. THE METROPOLITAN TRANSIT AUTHORITY EXPECTS PHASE ONE OF THE SUBWAY -- THAT'S THREE AND A HALF STOPS AND A NEW TUNNEL AT A FOURTH STOP -- TO CREATE 130-THOUSAND JOBS, WITH AN ECONOMIC IMPACT OF ALMOST 18 BILLION DOLLARS OVER THE NINE YEARS OF CONSTRUCTION.
Ali: New Yorkers keep asking, why does this take so long?
Dr. Horodniceanu: It is normal.
Ali: This is what it takes?
Dr. Horodniceanu: It is normal. It is what it takes.
ALL THE WHILE, AMERICANS ARE FOOTING THE BILL NO MATTER where THEY LIVE.
Second avenue, right now, $1.3 billion dollars comes from the federal government. And the rest of - 3.15 - comes from New York.
THE PORTION FROM NEW YORK COMES LARGELY FROM NEW YORK STATE BONDS AND M-T-A BONDS.
In 2016, when we swipe our card and ride our first train, it'll feel real good.
--TAG --
The project, at a cost of more than a million dollars a day, is one of the biggest public works projects in American history.
-----END-----CNN.SCRIPT-----

--KEYWORD TAGS--
TRAIN COSTS PROJECT MONEY UNDERGROUND