A survey of subway tunnels has uncovered three more holes like the one that allowed water to short-circuit crucial cables and disrupt service last month on the Lexington Avenue line.
The Transit Authority – looking for construction blunders across the system – found three other holes drilled by workers in 1993 in the ceilings of tunnels.
The 4, 5 and 6 lines were crippled March 16 three separate times after a hole near the 33rd Street station caused water to seep into the tunnel and destroy the cables that power the signal system.
TA President Larry Reuter told a City Council panel that inspection crews had seen the holes over the years, but “assumed it was part of a construction project.”
City Councilman John Liu (D-Queens) said leaving four holes undetected for 12 years is troubling.
“Holes in a ceiling are problems,” said Liu.
Transport Workers Union Local 100 claims the problems are a result of cutbacks in track inspection crews over the past two years.