Compressed air kept water from rising at underground metro job

AMSTERDAM - Work on the troublesome Noord/Zuidlijn, the underground metro, which has to connect Amsterdam-North with the so-called Zuidas on the South, has passed a major hurdle now that the future Vijzelgracht station site has a floor. The risk of further shifts in the soil and leakages is negligible now that the concrete has been poured and settled. Buildings near the station were evacuated several years ago when they became uninhabitable on account of the sagging. They have since been stabilized and restored. Putting in the floors was not without its challenges. Engineers compressed the air to suppress the upward push of the groundwater while putting in the floor. Completion of the line is now scheduled for 2017, years behind the original plan.