. It also appears strange that perhaps little or no routine infrastructure maintenance has been done to these abandoned tunnels or station since the bulkheads were erected, as has been routinely done with other unused NYCTA tunnels. If so, could this possibly, over a period of time, endanger the area directly above the tunnels?
Good question. The one tunnel this might come closest to is the Jerome/Sedgwick tunnel in the Bronx. Nothing has been done with it since the tracks were removed in the early 1960s. No maintenence of any kind is performed. The tunnel is sealed but there is ventilation. Previous subtalkers indicate that this 76th St station also has ventilaion even though access is sealed.
I would think that if the tunnel collapses and takes the road abov with it, it's a NYC DOT issue. If it runs under homes, it might be an "easement" issue, where the landlord above the tunnel is actually responsible for it, even if they don't know the tunnel is there.
At least, that's what we were told about the Polo Grounds shuttle tunnel - I guess the same rules would apply for 76th St.
--Mark