The Humans and Machines That Built New York’s Second Avenue Subway ⇥ motherboard.vice.com

Derek Mead, Madison Margolin, and Alex Pasternack, Vice:

Back in June 26, 2012, a Second Avenue subway construction crew blasted rock for the future 72 St. Station in Manhattan. At that time, Motherboard dove into the story of the longest-lasting transportation project in New York City’s history. First proposed in 1929 and again in 1951, but persistently hobbled by money woes and community opposition, the Second Avenue subway finally opened this year.

We went underground to see the construction of the subway — controlled explosions, and lots of manpower and machinery — being carried out back in 2013, and again when it opened just a few days ago. We went back this week to see the fruits of one of the largest transportation projects ever mounted in human history. Here is our journey.

Untapped Cities also has an impressive set of photos from the construction of the subway, including a few before-and-afters.