| East Side Access |
Article Index for East Side |
Website Links For East Side |
Information AboutEast Side Access |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT EAST SIDE ACCESS | |
| buildings and structures in manhattan | |
| long island rail road | |
| metropolitan transportation authority of new york | |
| transportation projects in new york | |
|
PURPOSE East Side Access has long been a dream of LIRR riders who work on the East Side of Manhattan but must now commute into the Long Island Rail Road's New York City terminus at the congested Pennsylvania Station , on the West Side. Direct service to the East Side will allow many riders to walk to work and allow other riders to reduce the number of subway and bus transfers they must make in order to reach their jobs, shortening and simplifying their commutes, and cutting up to 30-40 minutes off their daily travel time. The new LIRR East Side station under Grand Central Terminal will offer new entrances, a concourse, eight tracks on four platforms and a mid-level mezzanine. This new station will turn Grand Central Terminal into a regional transportation hub, allowing easier transfers for commuters travelling between Long Island , Metro-North destinations (in The Bronx , Westchester , Hudson Valley and Connecticut ) and the New York City Subway system. ROUTE AND SERVICE LEVEL Extending between Sunnyside, Queens and Grand Central Terminal, the East Side Access project will route the LIRR from Jamaica Station through new track connections in Queens to new tunnels under Sunnyside Yard and through the lower level of the existing 63rd Street Tunnel under the East River . In Manhattan, a new tunnel will begin at the western end of the 63rd Street Tunnel at Second Avenue , curve south under Park Avenue and enter a new LIRR terminal beneath Grand Central Terminal. Current plans call for 24-trains-per-hour service to Grand Central Terminal during peak morning hours, with an estimated 162,000 passenger trips to and from Grand Central on an average weekday. Connections at Jamaica to AirTrain JFK will facilitate travel to John F. Kennedy International Airport from the east side of Manhattan. A new LIRR train station in Sunnyside at Queens Boulevard along the LIRR’s Main Line (into Penn Station) will provide one-stop access for area residents to Midtown Manhattan and hopefully act as a catalyst for economic development and growth in Long Island City . CURRENT STATUS East Side Access has enjoyed sufficient funding levels to reach completion within its proposed construction timeframe of approximately 11 years. This is surprising because other public works projects in New York City and State have languished for decades due to a lack of public funding commitments. Whatever the reason, East Side Access is about halfway through completion as of early 2006, with real construction work ongoing, and a 2012 completion date still on target. SIDE EFFECTS East Side Access is likely to affect commuting patterns in Manhattan and put greatly increased passenger loads on the already dangerously-overcrowded IRT Lexington Avenue Line , the sole East Side subway line, as well on as surface bus routes on the East Side. East Side Access might force the city to build the long delayed Second Avenue Line along the far East Side of Manhattan to relieve north/south commmuting pressure emanating from Grand Central Terminal. EXTERNAL LINK |
|
|