East Side Access terminal nears completion
170 feet below the surface of Grand Central
Governor Andrew Cuomo during a press tour of the East Side Access terminal on May 27, 2021.
BY MARK HALLUM
The massive infrastructure
undertaking that has been
East Side Access – over 15
years in the making – will open
to commuters in 2022, Governor
Andrew Cuomo announced on
May 27 before touring the facility
with journalists.
With eight track beds, four of
which plunging 170 feet below
the surface underneath Grand
Central, the state government
has built granite-clad mezzanines
and fi rst-class amenities
the Cuomo administration and
the Metropolitan Transportation
Authority view as worthy of the
historic terminal above.
This summer, the MTA and
Long Island Rail Road will send
electric currents through the
third track and begin testing the
hardware in anticipation of bringing
commuters through Harold
Interlocking to Grand Central.
It is a seven-mile journey.
Commuters will enter through
Grand Central before being led
through brightly lit and white
corridors that will serve an art
gallery function subject to regular
updates before reaching the
ticketing booths.
In order to get to trains, 17
hi-rise escalators, 182 feet in
length will careen below the
surface to a tunnel network that
stretches from 42nd Street to
49th Street.
“Not only is it built functionally,
but we want people to enjoy
the experience. You see architectural
fl ourishes throughout,”
Cuomo said from seven stories
below Park Avenue. “If you look
at the George Washington Bridge,
the Brooklyn Bridge, Empire
State Building, this is going to
make New York, New York and
it couldn’t come at a better time.”
In all, about $11 billion from
federal and state resources have
been poured into the project
that has been underway since
2005, but has been working its
way through red tape for half a
century.
According to Janno Lieber,
MTA’s Chief Development Offi
cer, the state expects the ridership
levels and work patterns to
return to more or less to normal
by the time station opens in the
next year and the COVID-19
vaccines become commonplace.
Cuomo explained during the
press conference he believed that
businesses will also return to the
offi ce as it will be human nature
to want to gather in-person with
coworkers.
Another justifi cation for the
project is the argument that two
generations ago only 37,000
people lived on Long Island compared
to the 2.8 million of today
Leiber said capacity in the
peak hours will also be boosted
by 60% and the project spanned
some 50 total work contracts.
In order to jumpstart ridership
further on the Long Island Rail
Road, Lieber and the MTA are
working on possibly launching
more discounted fares to bring
people back int0 the transit
system.
While East Side Access will
free up platform capacity in Penn
Station, which also serves Amtrak
and New Jersey Transit, Governor
Andrew Cuomo plans to fi ll that
empty capacity with Metro-North
Railroad service, adding another
central hub for people seeking
connections between the two
commuter lines.
Nonetheless, Cuomo described
Penn Station as a “hellhole” that
has little to offer commuters in
terms of an experience. That
is, unless their trip takes them
through the newly completed
Moynihan Train Hall.
PHOTOS BY MARK HALLUM
4 June 3, 2021 Schneps Media