Mayor Lee visits tunnel launch site, meets tunneling machine Mom Chung
San Francisco Mayor Edwin M. Lee takes a look at tunnel boring machine Mom Chung in the excavation under 4th Street where tunneling will begin.
Yesterday, Mayor Edwin M. Lee paid a visit to the construction site where tunneling will begin and saw Mom Chung, the 350-foot-long tunnel boring machine currently being assembled underground.
Speaking to reporters in front of the digging cutter head of Mom Chung, Mayor Lee said he was excited about the Central Subway, calling the T Third Line extension “one of the most important projects for the future of San Francisco.”
SFMTA Board Chairman Tom Nolan, SFMTA Director of Transportation Edward D. Reiskin, Central Subway Program Director John Funghi, key city officials and members of Central Subway team accompanied Mayor Lee under 4th Street to show him the major excavation where tunneling will begin. Check out the photos below for more on the Mayor’s visit to this important construction site.
The tour group heads down the ramp near 4th and Bryant and into the excavation beneath the roadway.
The tour group makes its way through the excavation and toward Mom Chung. From left to right: Director Reiskin, Mayor Lee, John Funghi, tunnel contract Resident Engineer Sarah Wilson.
Sarah Wilson, the engineer overseeing construction of the Central Subway tunnels, explains the details of the tunneling process to Mayor Lee. From left to right: SFPUC Assistant General Manager Emilio Cruz, SFPUC General Manager Harlan Kelly, Jr., Mayor Lee, the Mayor’s Chief of Staff Steve Kawa, John Funghi, Sarah Wilson.
Mayor Lee responds to questions from reporters. From left to right: Director Reiskin, Chairman Nolan, Mayor Lee, John Funghi, SFMTA Board Vice Chairman Cheryl Brinkman, Sarah Wilson.
The tour group gathers around the front of Mom Chung. Called the cutter head, this spinning excavator will dig through the earth under 4th Street, Stockton Street and Columbus Avenue.
Representatives of tunnel construction contractor Barnard Impregilo Healy meet Mayor Lee and Director Reiskin. From left to right: Assistant Project Superintendent Andy Granger, Mayor Lee, Project Manager Ben Campbell, Director Reiskin.
Read more about the Mayor’s visit in today’s San Francisco Chronicle. Tunneling is slated to begin in June.
