Last year, Superstorm Sandy’s record storm surge caused severe flooding that it crippled New York City’s subway system. To prevent this from happening again, city officials conceived the idea of building a wall to keep out rushing seawater. They turned to the only material, which will surely do the job – steel.
With winds at 90 miles per hour, the storm surge was approximately 14 feet above Mean Low Water flooding many subway tunnels and damaging electrical equipment and train tracks. As a result, thousands of people could not get to their jobs or to schools.
Costing $38 million and scheduled to be completed on May 1, the city’s Metropolitan Transit Authority project consisted of a two-mile long wall of steel to protect a stretch of New York City’s A subway. This section of the train system has not been used since Hurricane Sandy damaged it.
The steel used is not only thick; it has also been designed to withstand erosion from salt water. Measuring 37 feet, each section of the wall is buried 30 feet below the ground and the remaining 7 feet protrudes above the tracks, which experts say is 2 feet above the storm surge from Hurricane Sandy.
This goes to show the strength of steel and why it can be relied upon for protection. No wonder, pre-engineered steel buildings are popular nowadays. More consumers are now aware of the capabilities of steel and how prefabrication can help solve their construction needs.
Prefabricated steel buildings are cost-efficient and predictable, providing for speedy construction and low labor and materials costs, as well as early occupancy. They can be designed for whatever purpose whether it is for storage, residential, commercial and industrial.
Designed and engineered using computerized technology; steel buildings are durable, structurally sound with the entire structure remaining straight and true even through extreme weather disturbances. The components used in these metal structures are made of high quality steel coated with special material to make them more resistant to corrosion. Unlike wood, steel does not warp, break, crack and is resistant to termites. That is why steel buildings offer lesser maintenance requirements than traditional construction.
With benefits such as these, prefabricated steel buildings will continue to be the “go to” construction solutions for consumers who want more value for their money.