Today Alexis Madrigal linked to a National Geographic page that features a scale rendering of New York City from the surface down. It’s just a schematic cross-section, not an actual map of the city’s underground, because it’s actually not possible to create an accurate rendering in that sense: maps of previous utility work are closely guarded and kept secret, to frustrate would-be attackers.
The elements of the first map are clearly labeled here, with text and audio describing it. I was most surprised to learn that most of the city’s utilities are within 30 feet of the surface. Below the sewer, some 200 feet below the surface, the next project down is about 850 feet underground: the Third Water Tunnel.
For more on that subject, and about the workers who are still digging that tunnel, check out this 1998 New York Times article by Elizabeth Kolbert.
