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American Experience
Danger in the Tunnels
One of the most dangerous sections on the Interborough Rapid Transit's route was assigned to a subcontractor, Ira Shaler, who was also a friend of chief engineer, William Parsons. On June 17th, 1902, Parsons inspected Shaler's work in the east tunnel. During the inspection, a boulder fell on Shaler. He died a few days later, bringing work in the east tunnel to a halt.
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