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"This was a construction miracle."
The 1 and 9 subway trains began operating again
on Sept. 15 at Ground Zero, thanks to the hard work of Local 375
members. The civil service architects and engineers designed a new
tunnel and brought the construction in ahead of schedule and $50
million under the original $170 million budget.
"This was a construction miracle," said Bob Mariano, treasurer
of Civil Service Technical Guild Local 375 and president of the
chapter at MTA New York City Transit.
"Ordinarily a construction job of this magnitude would have
easily taken two years," said Local 375 President Claude Fort.
"But this work was completed in six months-ahead of anyone's
expectations—because
of the expertise, experience and dedication of Local 375 members."
When the Twin Towers collapsed, falling steel and concrete crushed
the original 1,200-foot section of tunnel between the Chambers Street
and Rector Street stations.
The Cortland Street station, which was a part of the reconstruction,
will not reopen until the 16-acre World Trade Center site is rebuilt.
In the design phase of the project, a team of Local 375 members
produced 350 drawings in only five weeks. Under normal circumstances,
that work would have taken at least six months in-house—and
up to a year with consultants.
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Local 375 members were at the heart of the extensive
structural, signal, electrical, lighting and architectural work.
One member of the team, Civil Engineer Gautam Shastri, threw himself
wholeheartedly into the job even as he coped with the loss of his
25-year-old son Neil G. Shastri, a Cantor Fitzgerald consultant
who died in the terrorist attack.
About 30 Local 375 members supervised the six-month
construction phase, under the direction of former members Dilip
Patel and Cecil Fraser. The group ensured that the contractors and
subcontractors followed the specifications, adhered to city and
MTA building standards and protected the safety of the construction
workers.
"This was a 24/7 job. We are proud of our role in making sure
that MTA's high standards were met and nobody was hurt on the job,"
said Larry Lim, an Associate Project Manager with 25 years at Transit.
"We proved the value of maintaining a strong staff of professional
workers at the agency," said 22-year veteran Joel Zakoff, an
Associate Project Manager.
Mr. Mariano praised managers Mysore Nagaraja, senior vice president
and chief engineer, and Joe Trainor, program manager, for "having
the faith and confidence in our members' ability to perform."
— G.N.H.