What does it look like under NYC and Tokyo? If I dug a hole, would I find cables and pipes?

Question

I want to see a cutaway image of what it looks like under a big city like NYC or Tokyo, with the subways and wires and pipes and such.

Also, how do they repair, rearrange, or build new ones of things underground?

Answer 1

I once read somewhere that, at the busiest street intersection in New York, because of all the underground pipes and wires there was "no room to bury a pencil". Surely an exaggeration?

But a google search found a discussion forum participant who has seen the same phrase! He posted In an article about New York infrastructure, an author commented that "At 42nd and Broadway, there isn't enough dirt left to bury a pencil" . He also quoted a service engineer saying "Sometimes we encounter a pipe or conduit that doesn't show up on any of our maps. It's probably abandoned and out of service, but we don't know. We do all kinds of tests, but eventually we have to cut [verrrry carefully] and hope nothing blows up."

So your cutaway image doesn't exist, but there are certainly people who wished it did.

Answer 2

I have a picture of an intersection in New York that was dug up about 1910. The nearest comparison that I can think of is it looks like a plate full of spaghetti. There is room to bury a pencil but not much more than that.

In many cases the only thing that they can do to add or reroute the utilities is to drive a tunnel below them.

Answer 3

You are right, you will find lot of cables and lot of pipes.
The cables will be for communication and power transmission.
The pipes will be for water, gas and drainage.

Answer 4

must cities have a number for you to call before you dig