Catpaw – diary of an angry cat

Oh you just know I’m going to be like a dog with a bone over the TTC, don’t you. I just read this on the CBC’s website:

…repairs above a subway tunnel just south of the St. Clair station may have compromised the tunnel’s integrity, according to the Toronto Transit Commission.

A contractor not associated with the transit authority was “cutting about an 18-inch-wide [46-cm-wide] trench — the kind of trench you see for laying cables and whatnot — not realizing that below that roadway was a subway tunnel,” TTC spokesman Brad Ross told CBC News.

The TTC has “real concerns” the weakened portion could collapse into the tunnel, Ross said.

This oops is steps away from where I live. A collapsed tunnel could potentially weaken the apartment building I live in. I realise this is a remote possibility, but the threat is there. This is not a simple “oh dear”. This was a colossal blunder by the contractor who had no business doing a job if he was so ignorant of where he was working.

I refuse to believe he did not know there was a friggin big tunnel under where he was working. It was his job to be aware of what he was doing. How could anyone in this city not be aware of what that big rumbling thing is underground – even above the jackhammers you could still hear the subway rumble away beneath us. Did he think they were rather largish moles?

So how much is the TTC going to raise our fares to cover this little fiasco? How much are we on the hook for? I think we should demand the contractor pay for the entire repair job.

Stumble it!