A 26-kilometer "ghost subway" in the United States has not been completed for 100 years, which can be called the biggest failure in the history of American construction, so what has this railway experienced?
In the bosom of Ohio, USA, there is the city of Cincinnati, and here hides a century-old urban legend.
In 1910, the city of Cincinnati began the design of its first subway line, planning to build a circular subway line, and the design team finally decided to build the downtown section of the subway line above the Miami and Erie Canals, and build another avenue above the tracks, which was accepted by the city and citizens.
However, in 1917, the United States was involved in World War I, and construction was forced to stop, and after the war, the Great Depression and World War II loomed over the shadows, and the construction of the subway came to a halt again.
In 1920, the city of Cincinnati decided to continue the construction of the subway, but due to financial constraints, it had to be repaired as much as it could with the money on hand, and finally the excavator drove into the abandoned channel of Miami and the Erie Canal in January 1920, and the construction of the subway began again.
However, a series of problems were encountered during the construction process, including insufficient funds and rising costs, which caused the project to fall into trouble again.
In 1927, the entire budget for the subway project was exhausted, only about 11 kilometers were built, 7 stations were built, and the rails above had not even been laid.
The Cincinnati Metro was in a desperate situation and needed additional capital to continue construction, and to make matters worse, the road that was originally planned to be built above the tracks was opened in 1928 and was delayed due to the lag in the construction of the subway.
The stagnation of the subway project did not usher in a recovery with the end of the Second World War, the population of Novosinati was declining year by year, the popularity of automobiles made the demand for the subway relatively low, and the city was under pressure to revitalize the economy and could not invest resources in the construction of the subway, so the half-crippled subway project was officially shelved.
The local government has considered converting the tunnel into a driveway, a bomb shelter, or even a light rail, but none of these plans have passed the government's decision.
So why does the U.S. want to build a subway in the city?
It all started in 1827, when the city of Cincinnati was building the Miami Canal, which was expected to be a cash cow for the economy, connecting the city to the Ohio River.
But the canal was far less effective than expected, because in the 19th century the United States was in the era of the railroad explosion, and although the Miami Canal was an ambitious project, it was unable to cope with the speed and flexibility of the railroad.
The rise of the railroad gradually reduced the canal to an obsolete means of transportation, because of its slow speed, terrain limitations, easy to freeze in winter and other defects, a major flood in 1913 caused the canal structure to be damaged, and finally announced the elimination of the canal.
Although the railway replaced the canal, the long-distance railway could not provide convenience for the transportation needs of the city center. In 1888, the city of Cincinnati introduced streetcars to alleviate traffic congestion, but the trams encountered difficulties in designing the track directly in the middle of the road, which not only did not solve the problem, but became a new problem for the city.
At the same time, cities around the world are building subways to provide people with faster and more comfortable ways to travel short distances. The city of Cincinnati has also been affected by this trend, and many people have begun to call for the construction of a subway. It was at this time that Boston opened the first underground railroad in U.S. history, which further fueled the Cincinnati government's ambition to build a subway.
Now the tunnel is buried under the city road, becoming a century-old secret history of the city, and many citizens don't even know that they are stepping on the remains of a subway. This underground world has also become a mecca for many people's exploration, and for hundreds of years, people have continued to come to explore this forgotten wonder of urban engineering.
Cincinnati's subway didn't live up to its original dream, but it left an urban legacy to be reckoned with.
This buried project, which has witnessed the changes of the times and the rise and fall of the city, has become a regrettable chapter in history, and perhaps one day in the future, this subway will be awakened again and become a new legend for the city of Cincinnati.
Information source: "This subway in the United States has been repaired for 100 years, and it broke on the first day of opening" Global Network 2017-01-06
