Ground Zero "Grand Central" wins federal funding - Transit Update - Lower Manhattan mass transit center in New York, NY - Brief Article

Railway Age, Sept, 2002

New York City has found most of the money to create a Lower Manhattan mass transit center that will be a veritable downtown "Grand Central." At a Ground Zero news conference on Aug. 13, city and state officials announced that the federal government had agreed to deliver $4.55 billion for a new transit hub and other improvements in the area devastated by the 9/11 terrorist attacks. "We will have a multimodal center down here that is worthy of the 21st Century," pledged Governor George E. Pataki. U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg joined Pataki in announcing the news at a site overlooking a pit that was once a busy PATH rail terminal.

What made the announcement particularly newsworthy was the federal government's decision to reverse long-standing policy and make "disaster relief" money available not just to replace ruined stations and tubes but to link commuter rail, subway, and bus lines in a whole new configuration.

The $4.55 million federal transit package is part of the $21 billion pledged by President Bush immediately after 9/11. It includes $2.75 billion that had been allocated to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for cleanup of the collapsed World Trade Center towers and surrounding buildings. The cleanup was completed earlier and at less cost than expected.

At one time, transportation planners envisioned $7.5 billion in downtown transit improvements. Sources say the $4.55 billion now available will pay for crucial elements. A new PATH terminal will be connected by an underground concourse with a new Fulton Street facility linking the various subway lines that converge downtown. The South Ferry subway terminal will be reconfigured to better-handle commuters and tourists who use the Staten Island Ferries and the shuttle boats to the Statue of Liberty. Ferry terminals will be expanded at the World Financial Center and at Hoboken, N.J. A bus station is also planned. Meanwhile, a search will be undertaken for ways to link the Long Island and Metro-North commuter railroads to downtown. LIRR's Manhattan terminal is now Penn Station at 34th Street on the West Side; Metro-North trains go to Grand Central Terminal at 42nd Street on the East Side. Improvements not covered by the projected level of spending include a proposed $2 billion West Street tunnel to take vehicular traffic away from surface arteries.

Repairs on the subway tunnel destroyed on 9/11 have advanced faster than anticipated. MTA officials expect the No. 1 and 9 lines to be back in business by mid-September, two months ahead of schedule. The nearby Cortlandt Street station serving the N and R lines was to reopen at the same time. With the 1 and 9 returning to their normal terminals at South Ferry, the 2 and 3 will resume their regular routes, putting the subway system back to its pre-9/11 condition with one exception: The Cortlandt Street stop below Ground Zero will remain closed pending reconstruction of the entire site. The total anticipated cost of tunnel rebuilding is $97 million. Contractors Tully Construction and A.J. Pegno Construction will earn bonuses of up to $3 million for completing the work before Sept. 30.

Meanwhile, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation continues to look for an acceptable master plan for the World Trade Center site. Six initial plans unveiled in July were widely criticized. On Aug. 14, the LMDC invited "die most innovative architects and planners around the world" to participate in a design study. The suggested guidelines include this one for a Central Transit Center: "Create an integrated transit center serving lower Manhattan for PATH and subway passengers. A grand and visible station is needed to orient travelers and provide a spectacular point of arrival for commuters, tourists, and residents."