Groundbreaking held for $50 million High Line connecter to Moynihan Train Hall
WEST SIDE, Manhattan (WABC) -- A groundbreaking ceremony kicked-off construction on the new High Line connector that will bring pedestrians easy access to Moynihan Train Hall.
The $50 million project will link New York City's High Line seamlessly to Moynihan Train Hall via Magnolia Court, which runs through Brookfield Properties' Manhattan West development.
Crew are busy working on the new, roughly 1,000 foot extension called the Moynihan Connector, which will start at 30th Street and 10th Avenue.
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The High Line Moynihan Connector will offer a safe, scenic experience for commuters, residents, and visitors navigating the heavy trafficked area near the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel.
Two bridges -- Woodlands Bridge and Timber Bridge -- will connect via 10th Avenue at the end of the High Line.
At the end of the line, the busy Moynihan rail hub will be a jumping off point to area airports.
"You'll basically be able to go anywhere in the country from the High Line," High Line co-founder Joshua David said.
The connector will run parallel to 30th Street alongside Dyer Avenue through Manhattan's West Side, ending on Ninth Avenue directly across from the Farley Building and Moynihan Train Hall.
"They're going through Manhattan West, over onto the High Line, no stairs, no elevators," David said. "And within minutes of getting off a train, you are surrounded by the greenery and tranquility that's the High Line."
A public-private partnership comprising Empire State Development, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Brookfield Properties Group, and Friends of the High Line is undertaking the project.
"This is a symbol of New York is back, we are doing this so that everybody who is coming back to the office and wanting to be here in New York can have this amenity of public space," said Hope Knight, of Empire State Development.
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Critics of the original High Line project said it was impossible to give new life to the abandoned train tracks and called to tear them down.
Now, more than two decades later, the High Line has changed the way people look at urban parks.
"It's about a new way to connect with the city to perceive the city, to interact with the city and that's really captivated people," David said. "We get 8.3 million visitors a year on the High Line."
Visitors come from all over the world, like Liam McNicholl, from Ireland.
"If you want to see New York, you should definitely check the High Line, see it from that angle," McNicholl said. "I think it's lovely, definitely beats walking it street level."
The project is expected to be completed in the spring of 2023.
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