This Friday, before starting the weekend of ‘Memorial Day’, the governor Andrew Cuomo gave good news to long island passengers who go to Manhattan every day to work, study or just have fun. The so-called project ‘East Side Access’, planned since the 1960s, it will enable Long Island Rail Road trains to access the Grand Central terminal on the east side of Manhattan, facilitating mobility for thousands of people and increasing the passenger capacity of the intercity public transportation system .
The state agent made the announcement after taking a tour of Grand Central, qualifying the new construction as a historic move, as it is the largest expansion in the Long Island Rail Road in 100 years, an MTA megaproject that will connect the Long Island Rail Road with a new 350,000-square-foot terminal below Grand Central.
“East Side Access is one of the largest transportation projects in North America, a bold $ 11 billion idea that changes the entire regional transportation system,” Cuomo said in his press conference. “Thanks to the hard work of so many people, the major construction of this transformative project is now complete and we are proud to announce that East Side Access It will open next year, significantly reducing travel times and making the commute to Manhattan easier for countless travelers. “
The Governor stressed that the completion of this project will have a great impact on the economy and the revitalization of New York. “It will serve as yet another example of what New Yorkers can do when we set out to do something,” Cuomo said.
Janno Lieber, President of MTA Construction & Development, mentioned that unlike other types of projects, with the LIRR access corridor to Grand Central, the mission was always to keep the inauguration date intact.
“In the past, when faced with challenges, the answer was to push back the project completion date. We put an end to that and committed ourselves to this project It will be completed in 2022 as promised. Today’s announcement is an affirmation that our approach is working, ”the official said.
Regarding the project, both Cuomo and Lieber stressed that it will be 350,000 feet, it will be below street level, having new entrances along Madison Avenue, 25 retail stores, WiFi and cellular service access, new art installations, and digital signage with real-time train information.
The plan calls for the Madison Avenue entrance being built in 45th street amid the redevelopment of the former MTA headquarters, serve about 10,000 people a day.
The project, considered one of the most delayed since the beginning of its planning, according to the Governor’s Office., was conceived in the 1960s, It was developed in the 1990s and work began in earnest in Queens and Manhattan in 2006.
When work began to move forward in 2006, expected to premiere in 2013 at a cost of $ 6.3 billion but it didn’t happen.
