The photo of this explosion makes it look huge. I wonder how much the pent up infrastructure work to avoid these issues would cost. Are water or gas pipes also vulnerable to this sort of thing?
The photo of this explosion makes it look huge. I wonder how much the pent up infrastructure work to avoid these issues would cost. Are water or gas pipes also vulnerable to this sort of thing?
The cost is essentially incalculable. Back in the 1800s people kept poor records of what they were stuffing under the streets, and the records that were kept were lost, and the ones that weren't lost are sitting in a box who knows where. NYC has effectively no idea what they're going to find under a street every time they tear one up, and the deeper you dig, the more you find.
The wikipedia article has a few more photos: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_New_York_City_steam_explo...
The aftermath photo gives you a good sense of it: https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna20184563
That isn't to say water/fluids are not dangerous. They can kill. However for the same pressure gases are much worse.