platform level. The four elevator wells were in the four corners of the main shaft with the staircase between them. The emergency staircase, along with those at the 168th Street and 181st Street stations, whose platforms were also accessed mainly by elevators, were used for the first time on March 23, 1914, after the elevators stopped working due to a problem at the Dyckman power station. This resulted in extreme congestion. Construction of the station proved difficult. It required the sinking of a shaft and the widening of the tunnel bore on both sides to accommodate the platforms; this was accomplished without interrupting subway service. The station platforms were constructed by building two new tunnels alongside the existing tunnel, and connecting them once the platforms were complete. Blasting for the station was limited to between midnight and 5:00 a.m. when subway service was less frequent. The station platforms were designed to be long to accommodate 10-car express trains. Originally, part of the old tunnel arch was to be used for the station roof. However, the discovery of a mud seam, and the development of cracks in the roof, made it necessary to build a flat roof over the tracks, and filling in the space between the arch and the roof with concrete. Pedestrian tunnel Along with the construction of the station, a tunnel was built to connect the station at 191st Street and St. Nicholas Avenue with Broadway, located west of Fairview Avenue. James A. Lynch, counsel for many subway contractors, recommended the construction of a tunnel street to provide better access to the station, and convinced local property owners and the city to fund it. The tunnel street cost $76,000, with $5,000 provided by the IRT and the remainder levied on the neighborhood property owners at their request. Engineers found the construction of the tunnel to be feasible since the subway platforms would be on almost the same level as Broadway. On October 5, 1909, the Board of Improvements of Washington Heights approved plans for the construction of a tunnel to Riverside Drive. Three entrances to the tunnel were proposed at Broadway, Fort Washington Avenue, and Riverside Drive. The entrances to Broadway and Riverside Drive would have been located at street-level, as the tunnel was to be at the same elevation as the streets at these locations. Two elevators would be required for the entrance to Fort Washington Avenue,