PATH Tunnels Are Really Really Vulnerable

PATH Tunnels Are Really Really Vulnerable

This is just the way you want to end your work week before Christmas holiday: Hearing from the NY Times that the PATH tunnels are "seen as fragile" in a bomb attack. Even a small ("a significant but not necessarily very large") bomb would cause a PATH tunnel to flood in 6 minutes.

How did the Times find out about an analysis that was given to the Port Authority three weeks ago? A government official sent it to them, upset with the "lack of action" by the Port Authority about the findings. From the Times:

A 19-page summary of the analysis details some of the measures the Port Authority has been planning to put in place to better secure the PATH system: laying concrete blankets atop the tubes to plug holes caused by a blast, strengthening portions of the tubes and installing floodgates to prevent the system from being overwhelmed.

The official who gave a copy of the report to The Times said the Port Authority, whose executive director and board members are appointed by the governors of New York and New Jersey, had informed neither state executive of the most recent results. Neither has it yet shared the new findings with the United States Department of Homeland Security, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, the New York Police Department or other law enforcement agencies, the official said.

The official disputed the Port Authority’s contention that it had increased patrols and bag searches.

Further, the PATH tunnels are especially vulnerable because they "lie in the soft riverbed, unlike other tunnels that are bored through the underlying bedrock." Oy. And you want more oy? There are some subway tunnels that are also in the riverbed (hello, East River crossings!).