surface as a rule. A pair of heavy steel beams was then laid in this
trench on the trestles. Between these beams and the curb line a second
pair of beams were placed. In this way the equivalent of a bridge was
put up, the trestles acting as piers and the beams as girders. The
central portion of the roadway was then undermined and supported by
timbering suspended from the steel beams. The various gas and water
pipes were hung from timbers at the surface of the ground. About four
sections, or 150 feet, of the subway were built at a time in this
manner. When the work was completed along one side of the street it
was repeated in the same manner on the other side. This method of
construction was subsequently modified so as to permit work on both
sides of the street simultaneously. The manner in which the central
part of the roadway was supported remained the same and all of the
traffic was diverted to this strip.

[Illustration: SUPPORT OF ELEVATED RAILWAY STATION AT 42D STREET AND
SIXTH AVENUE]

Between 14th and 17th Streets, because of the proximity of the rock to
the surface, it was necessary to move the tracks of the electric
surface railway from the center of the street some twenty feet to the
east curb, without interrupting traffic, which was very heavy at all
times, the line being one of the main arteries of the Metropolitan
system. Four 12 x 12-inch timbers were laid upon the surface. Standard
cast-iron yokes were placed upon the timbers at the usual distance
apart. Upon this structure the regular track and slot rails were
placed. The space between the rails was floored over. Wooden boxes
were temporarily laid for the electric cables. The usual hand holes
and other accessories were built and the road operated on this timber
roadbed. The removal of the tracks was made necessary because the rock