Sandhog
Encyclopedia
Sandhog is the slang
term given to urban miner
s, construction worker
s who work underground on a variety of excavation projects in New York City
. Generally these projects involve tunnel
ing, caisson
excavation, road building, or some other type of underground construction or mining
projects. The miners work with a variety of equipment from tunnel boring machine
s (TBM) to blasting a path for the project they are building. The term is a US-American colloquialism
.
Starting with their first job in 1872, the Brooklyn Bridge
, the "hogs" have built a large part of the City of New York
-- the subways
and sewer
s, Water Tunnels #1 & #2 as well as the currently under construction Water Tunnel #3
, the Lincoln
, Holland
, Queens-Midtown, and Brooklyn-Battery
tunnels to name a few, as well as the foundations for most of the bridges and many of the skyscrapers in the city. Since their work is mostly done below street level, in an unseen world of rock, sand, and earth, recognition of their achievements has been limited. Many of these workers are Irish
or Irish American
and West Indian.
Sandhogs are diverse in backgrounds, interests, and personalities, but are generally united in their work. Sandhogging is somewhat of a tradition and is passed down through generation
s of families; since mining projects span decades, it is not uncommon to find multi-generations of families working together on the same job.
In the October 1997 issue of Esquire
magazine, a series of photographs by David Allee
, with a text accompanyment by Thomas Kelly
, documents the life and work of the Sandhog. In 2006 at Grand Central Terminal
in New York City there was a large-scale photo and video installation about the sandhogs, The Sandhog Project, created by artist Gina LeVay.
Thomas Kelly's 1997 novel about Sandhogs,"Payback", was reissued in 2008 as "Sandhogs" by Soft Skull Press.
On September 7, 2008, The History Channel
began a series on the sandhogs.
Slang
Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...
term given to urban miner
Miner
A miner is a person whose work or business is to extract ore or minerals from the earth. Mining is one of the most dangerous trades in the world. In some countries miners lack social guarantees and in case of injury may be left to cope without assistance....
s, construction worker
Construction worker
A construction worker or builder is a professional, tradesman, or labourer who directly participates in the physical construction of infrastructure.-Construction trades:...
s who work underground on a variety of excavation projects in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Generally these projects involve tunnel
Tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...
ing, caisson
Caisson (engineering)
In geotechnical engineering, a caisson is a retaining, watertight structure used, for example, to work on the foundations of a bridge pier, for the construction of a concrete dam, or for the repair of ships. These are constructed such that the water can be pumped out, keeping the working...
excavation, road building, or some other type of underground construction or mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
projects. The miners work with a variety of equipment from tunnel boring machine
Tunnel boring machine
A tunnel boring machine also known as a "mole", is a machine used to excavate tunnels with a circular cross section through a variety of soil and rock strata. They can bore through anything from hard rock to sand. Tunnel diameters can range from a metre to almost 16 metres to date...
s (TBM) to blasting a path for the project they are building. The term is a US-American colloquialism
Colloquialism
A colloquialism is a word or phrase that is common in everyday, unconstrained conversation rather than in formal speech, academic writing, or paralinguistics. Dictionaries often display colloquial words and phrases with the abbreviation colloq. as an identifier...
.
Starting with their first job in 1872, the Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River...
, the "hogs" have built a large part of the City of New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
-- the subways
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and also known as MTA New York City Transit...
and sewer
Sanitary sewer
A sanitary sewer is a separate underground carriage system specifically for transporting sewage from houses and commercial buildings to treatment or disposal. Sanitary sewers serving industrial areas also carry industrial wastewater...
s, Water Tunnels #1 & #2 as well as the currently under construction Water Tunnel #3
New York City Water Tunnel No. 3
New York City Water Tunnel No. 3 is the largest capital construction project in New York state's history and among the most complex engineering projects in the world today. It is being constructed by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection , and is intended to provide the City with...
, the Lincoln
Lincoln Tunnel
The Lincoln Tunnel is a long tunnel under the Hudson River, connecting Weehawken, New Jersey and the borough of Manhattan in New York City.-History:...
, Holland
Holland Tunnel
The Holland Tunnel is a highway tunnel under the Hudson River connecting the island of Manhattan in New York City with Jersey City, New Jersey at Interstate 78 on the mainland. Unusual for an American public works project, it is not named for a government official, politician, or local hero or...
, Queens-Midtown, and Brooklyn-Battery
Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel
Interstate 478s entire length consists of the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel and its approaches. Its south end is at Interstate 278, and its north end is at NY 9A ....
tunnels to name a few, as well as the foundations for most of the bridges and many of the skyscrapers in the city. Since their work is mostly done below street level, in an unseen world of rock, sand, and earth, recognition of their achievements has been limited. Many of these workers are Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
or Irish American
Irish American
Irish Americans are citizens of the United States who can trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,278,332 Americans—estimated at 11.9% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau...
and West Indian.
Sandhogs are diverse in backgrounds, interests, and personalities, but are generally united in their work. Sandhogging is somewhat of a tradition and is passed down through generation
Generation
Generation , also known as procreation in biological sciences, is the act of producing offspring....
s of families; since mining projects span decades, it is not uncommon to find multi-generations of families working together on the same job.
In the October 1997 issue of Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
magazine, a series of photographs by David Allee
David Allee
David S. Allee is an American photographer.Allee received an undergraduate degree in economics and government from Cornell University in 1991, and his MFA in Photography from the School of Visual Arts...
, with a text accompanyment by Thomas Kelly
Thomas Kelly
-Public officials and political activists:*Thomas Kelly , Conservative from Prince Edward Island*Thomas J. Kelly , leader in Irish Republican Brotherhood, came to America in 1851 and served on Union side in Civil War*Thomas Kelly , , one of Sinn Féin founding members who represented Dublin...
, documents the life and work of the Sandhog. In 2006 at Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal —often incorrectly called Grand Central Station, or shortened to simply Grand Central—is a terminal station at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States...
in New York City there was a large-scale photo and video installation about the sandhogs, The Sandhog Project, created by artist Gina LeVay.
Thomas Kelly's 1997 novel about Sandhogs,"Payback", was reissued in 2008 as "Sandhogs" by Soft Skull Press.
On September 7, 2008, The History Channel
The History Channel
History, formerly known as The History Channel, is an American-based international satellite and cable TV channel that broadcasts a variety of reality shows and documentary programs including those of fictional and non-fictional historical content, together with speculation about the future.-...
began a series on the sandhogs.