Day 136, 13 March 2013

Preparations for taking down the retaining wall and clearing the embankment are underway. The steel panels that were driven into the ground in January are there to keep everything firmly in place as the embankment is removed. A huge circular saw was brought in this afternoon and started slicing through the thick concrete wall, first vertically, then horizontally. Judging from the rate at which the work is proceeding, i don't expect the wall to last for longer than a few more days. It was a fine old wall and i'll miss it. Last summer, when i spoke to the artist painting the mural on the next block (pictured yesterday), he told me that this wall was scheduled to get its own mural this year. Then, just a few weeks later, i learned that rather than getting a nice splash of color on that fine old wall, we'd be losing the wall and getting a substation. But although i may sound a bit mournful, i'm also a big supporter of public transportation and appreciate the need to upgrade the infrastructure of the L system. 

Day 134, 11 March 2013

The ground has thawed and there was a lot of digging and surface leveling going on today. 

This was the point at which i could no longer watch. Fortunately, the crew was especially careful, and the driver especially skillful, so that last little spit of land at the southern end of the site was cleared to the same level as the rest of the work area.

PS. Thanks to the crew for moving the dumpsters to a more accessible location. 

Day 131, 8 March 2013

As the snow slowly melts, the pace of work on the substation site is beginning to speed up. Today this temporary fencing was installed between the track area and building site.

Day 124, 1 March 2013

The pace seems to be picking up: there were more workers on the site today and the gravel patch is steadily growing.

Day 122, 27 February 2013

Finally, a few action shots of the very important if not terribly exciting task of measuring the steel panels that were installed last month, including one dramatic shot of the invasion of Ms. Demeanor's domain. This work has been going on for a few weeks, monitoring to make sure that nothing has settled or shifted, and that everything is stable and ready for the next stage in the building process (at least that's my admittedly amateur understanding of what it is that they are doing), but this is the first opportunity i've had to catch the action, or more precisely, the lack thereof. I added a shot of an approaching train just for a hint of visual drama.

This is, by the way, one of those days when you can't help but feel sorry for people whose job requires them to be outside in the weather. The big, fluffy snowflakes may look pretty in these pictures, but the appeal wears off very quickly when you are out among them. 

Day 115, 20 February 2013

It seems about time for an update, lest you begin to think that i've abandoned my blogging duties. Unfortunately, there is little to report. Things have been very quiet on the substation worksite since my last update. A few weeks ago, Ms. Demeanor was consulted about allowing the work crew access to her Fortress of Solitude (aka "the porch") to take measurements and pictures of the work in progress. Since i am merely a tenant in the aforementioned FoS, i put them in touch with my landlord, who kindly agreed. So at various times in the last few weeks, there have been men in hardhats on my and my neighbors' porch. This has not been a problem, since the crew from F.H. Paschen are always polite and professional, but i think they owe me an honorary hardhat for my efforts ;-)

That's all for now, but rest assured that when the work resumes, i'll be back.   

Day 103, 8 February 2013

After several days absence, I returned to find the crew hard at work, despite the snow and frigid temperatures. Before anything else could be done this morning, a thick layer of ice had to be scraped off the roadway. Then there was a good bit of work along the tracks, with regular cries of "Railroad!" (which always sounds to me a lot like Scoobie-Doo calling, "Ruh-Roh!"). Distances are being measured, lines are being drawn, and a huge pile of gravel is slowly being transported from street level to track level. The colorful banners took me by surprise at first: they seemed so whimsical and random; but on reflection, they make a lot of sense since they really stand out against the snow.