By Jill Colvin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MIDTOWN — Midtown residents who survived the 7-train extension project are bracing for more digging as Con Edison works to protect its underground pipes amid rising water levels around the city.
Con Edison is preparing for a new steam main project at the corner of 35th Street and Fifth Avenue, just north of the Empire State Building. Work would begin in early February and was set to last four months, spokeswoman Sarah Banda said.
Workers would be raising the steam main that now runs underground to make sure that it stayed above the city's cold ground water, which is currently rising, she said.
The project would require crews to barricade 100 feet of the parking lane on the north side of East 35th Street, east of Fifth Avenue, but other traffic lanes were expected to stay open, Banda said.
"There’s no indication that there’s going to be a complete shut-down," she said.
The stretch is home to several large residential apartment buildings, a restaurant, a Starbucks and the CUNY Graduate Center.
The utility currently has a permit that will allow work at night between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. and is awaiting permits for day and weekend work.
But Banda said the utility would also work to minimize disruptions.
"We always try to minimize significant impact on our community as much as possible," she said.
Those who work along the block didn’t seem fazed just yet.
"I’ll manage," said Upper West Side resident Adrian Carmona, 49, who has worked as a doorman at a building along the stretch for the past 26 years.
One woman who has worked on the block for a decade said the construction would likely have the greatest impact on the truck drivers who load and unload nearby.
"It’s going to be a little difficult," she predicted.
Still, she added, "We’re used to it."
Con Ed is planning to present its plan to residents at Midtown Community Board 5’s next Transportation Committee meeting, scheduled for Monday, Jan. 24th at 6 p.m. at 450 Seventh Ave., unit 2109.
