Making the rounds today are some new old renderings from the Fulton St. Transit Center that came packaged as part of a presentation from the MTA to Community Board 1 last week. You can check out the renderings in my October post, here via DNA Info or in raw form in the presentation PDF right here. The renderings and construction photos are fun to view, but the real news is in the timeline.
According to the MTA documents, the end of the construction effort is finally in sight. After years of missed deadlines and rising budgets, the MTA says construction is still slated to wrap in June of 2014, just over 28 months from now. A detailed glimpse at the timeline, though, reveals that most work will be completed before the end of 2012.
As the chart on page 45 of the presentation shows, the MTA will complete the rehab of the 4/5 station and ready the new Dey St. entrance by the end of July. In November, the Dey Street concourse is set to open as well the escalator to John St. By the end of the year, the Corbin building restoration and first floor retail storefronts will be ready. In 2013, the MTA’s major work will involve opening the A/C mezzanine by the end of March, and after that, it’s just a spring until the headhouse is ready in mid-2014. Even as there’s light at the end of the proverbial tunnel, I still question whether or not this project was truly worth the billions.
14 comments
Any word as to whether the Dey Street connector will be an in-system or out-of-system transfer? I’ve heard both tossed around over the last few years…
As far as I know, it will be and always has been an out-of-system transfer.
I concur with that. They always saw the Dey Street passageway as a useful connection between the eastern and western halves of downtown, even for non-transit riders.
As a practical matter, even if it were inside of fare control, it would be a VERY long transfer: there are a number of nearby stations where the same (or similar) connections could be made much more conveniently.
It’s generally true that the Dey St transfer will not be all that useful for many straphangers on a daily basis, but I could see someone accidentally ending up on an E train instead of the C and wanting to transfer to the 4/5. I could also see someone on the R train use the Dey St tunnel to get to the A/C instead of walking back the entire length of the E train to the Chambers station.
Will there be some sort of continuous underground passage for people not using the subway? i.e., could someone walk from Battery Park City to Williams St after all the construction is finished WITHOUT having to swipe a metrocard? It could be a nice downtown amenity on rainy days…
No, it won’t be possible to get across Nassau without going down to the IND platform. The farthest you’ll get without paying a fare is the Transit Center building between Broadway and Nassau.
Ben, note that the only part of the Dey St. passageway that is already in use is the underpass that connects the uptown and downtown platforms of the Cortlandt St. BMT station. That short stretch is of course INSIDE the fare zone. I wonder how they will deal with that situation after November. There can’t be direct access from the street to the downtown platform until the sidewalk on the west side of Church St. can be reopened.
I think that section was being widened and split into two parts, so as to have an in-system and an out-of-system section? I don’t remember for sure.
The powerpoint was really informative. The renderings and schedule were great to see. One thing that is missing is any information about the E/R connection at World Trade Center/Cortlandt St. Is this a part of this work or is it something that has to be worked out/coordinated with the Port Authority? Does anyone know when that might be opened?
Hiding near the bottom: “No southbound J/Z transfer to other lines starting March 5 through late summer”
That’s coming up soon!
Any idea if the mezzanine will now go through the J/Z train? If I recall correctly, they are stacked, but one is 20′ over the other.
Yes, it’s a two-level station. Not sure whether it’s possible to run a concourse between them, but it definitely won’t be going through any trains. 8-p
They are stacked very tightly, with no clearance at all. There is no physical way for the mezzanine to possibly cross Nassau.
No. There will be an “upper level J/Z mezzanine” and a “lower level J/Z mezzanine” and finally the A/C platform level. Each mezzanine will terminate at the appropriate J/Z platform on one side, and at a blank wall on the other side….
I suppose they could have given the J/Z trains a second side platform for each level and let people walk THROUGH the J/Z like they walk through trains at Jamaica, but they chose not to do that.
The “dome and oculus” is seriously the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen. Who in their right mind thought that hideous top hat would be a good addition to any building?