The DEP has been working hard on City Water Tunnel 3, a project that's slated for completion in 2013 after beginning in 1970. But just what is going on down there? Photographer Gina LeVay spent some time with the "sandhogs" working on the project from 2003 to 2009, and her mesmerizing color photographs will be on display at the Half King Gallery starting February 1st. With workers drilling around the clock, it takes about 24 hours to drill 15 feet. And as they mention, "For each mile tunneled, approximately one man loses his life in an accident." Think about that the next time you turn on your tap.
Opening night will feature a short film of LeVay's work along with a Q&A with 40-year-veteran sandhog Dennis O'Neill and Popular Mechanics Director of Photography Allyson Torrisi. Though the work is dangerous and often thankless, sandhog Butch Halsedater says, "I come here and there's no place I'd rather be than work. It's the only place I'm content." To learn more about how sandhogs do what they do check out RadioLab's episode "Belly of the Beast," all about how New York got its first water tunnels and the everyday dangers sandhogs face at work.
