East Side Access Expansion Brings Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central Terminal

Historically, commuters who relied upon the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) to reach Manhattan’s East Side had to backtrack on foot from Penn Station on the West Side or catch another subway train to reach their destination.

But the recent opening of the LIRR East Side Access extension is making that trip considerably easier and faster for the thousands who rely on that rail line every day.

Full LIRR service to Grand Central Madison in New York City was launched on Feb. 27, following the successful completion of the LIRR East Side Access project, a two-mile extension bringing LIRR service directly to Grand Central Terminal (GCT).

The East Side Access project provides direct LIRR service to Midtown Manhattan’s East Side at GCT by extending the LIRR from Queens to a new terminal, Grand Central Madison (GCM), below the existing GCT in Manhattan.

WSP was responsible for final design and construction phase services for the LIRR East Side Access Project as part of the General Engineering Consultant (GEC), a joint venture partnership with STV, Inc. and Parsons Corp.

In the project’s early stages, dating back to the late 2000’s, WSP played a predominantly managerial role while also providing design- and construction-related services for the geotechnical, tunneling, structural, architectural, track and tunnel ventilation disciplines.

As the project progressed, WSP’s role expanded to include design services during construction for the major system-wide contract and supporting fire alarm system design and witness testing, as well as technical support for LIRR operation and maintenance program.

“WSP, as part of the GEC partnership, provided dependable service to MTA and LIRR and delivered high-quality work in a timely fashion,” said Curt Cicileo, WSP’s project manager.

With more than 700 miles of track, 11 branch lines and 124 stations, the LIRR is the most extensive commuter rail network in the U.S. and the oldest railroad in the nation still operating under its original name.

However, the reach and capacity of this railroad has remained unchanged since 1910, making the East Side Access project its first major expansion in more than a century.

The result of these labors is a new service that will offer improved commute times for LIRR users, expanding service from Long Island while freeing track space at Penn Station.

“GCM service is estimated to shorten the average commuter’s time by as much as 40 minutes each day, and the capacity of LIRR trains per hour to and from Manhattan will substantially increase, while alleviating congestion at Penn Station,” Cicileo said.

LIRR trains enter Manhattan from Queens via the existing 63rd Street Tunnel under the East River. This required four tunnels to be bored through soft ground using a pressurized-face tunnel boring machine (TBM). This portion required reconfiguration of Harold Interlocking, the busiest railroad interchange in the U.S.

The project’s signature features include the construction of GCM station caverns, concourse and the connecting high-rise escalators, which are adorned with beautiful glass, marble finishes and arches that replicate the aesthetics of the historic GCT. 

The station caverns required blasting under GCT to enlarge bored tunnels and create two 60-foot-wide by 80-foot-deep caverns, which are separated from the lower level of GCT by approximately 40 feet of rock. The 350,000-square-foot passenger concourse was created from extensive reconstruction of GCT’s western lower-level track area, where existing structural elements were reframed to create space for the high-rise escalators.

“WSP’s primary role was to provide geotechnical and structural design and construction support for the station caverns and high-rise escalator shafts.” Cicileo said.

Several innovative tunneling and ground treatment techniques were employed for this project, including the first full-sized, soft ground pressurized face TBMs used in the New York area.

“These tunnels pushed the limits of soft-ground TBM operation to minimize the need for cut and cover construction in Harold Interlocking,” said WSP’s Jeff Rice, GEC’s former deputy director and lead structural engineer.  

The Northern Boulevard Crossing tunnel was the first in the area to use ground-freeze methods and the sequential excavation method, and various ground treatment methods were used to support the Queens tunneling. Then there’s the Manhattan tunneling work, which included innovative uses of tunnel drives to minimize drill and blast operations.

Extensive monitoring and state-of-the-art drill and blast techniques resulted in efficient material removal, and no impact to the surrounding infrastructure.

“The project was constructed with minimal impact to the community,” Cicileo said. “The Manhattan side of the project has been likened to orthoscopic ‘keyhole’ surgery, with minimal impact at Grand Central Terminal and limited construction traffic in Manhattan.”

A primary illustration of this is the removal of rock removed from the tunnels and station caverns. Instead of removing the rock onto the surface streets of Manhattan, the material was conveyed through the tunnels and directly into Queens, where its removal was much less intrusive to the community and to the Rail Road.

“The work in Queens was more visible, but the safety and performance of the railroads remained foremost considerations,” Cicileo added.

The GEC was frequently relied upon to support the client with overcoming numerous challenges throughout the design and construction phases.   

On the Manhattan side of the project, WSP provided engineering support for challenges during drill and blast operations for rock excavation near existing structures. This was to help the client and contractor ensure that blasting was conducted in a safe and timely manner, all while adhering to the project’s noise and vibration criteria. 

The corresponding ground support in several areas was optimized to help the client overcome schedule demands of the rock excavation. Additionally, structural designs of cavern structures at interlockings were optimized to maximize the use of TBMs for rock excavations to meet schedule demands. 

On the Queens side, WSP provided design and engineering support for the tunnel approach structures in Harold Interlocking using various methods of construction and support of excavation in soft ground with minimal service interruptions of existing adjacent LIRR and Amtrak tracks.     

The Long Island and New York City communities are expected to greatly benefit from the new GCM service for commuting to work, as well as traveling for leisure and tourism purposes.

“Being involved with this monumental project has been very meaningful on several levels,” Cicileo said. “As a native Long Islander, it’s been especially gratifying knowing the benefits this project brings to the community. Seeing it through from its infancy to completion has been a source of great pride.

“Professionally, it has been an extraordinary achievement to have been part of, and to have worked with such an incredible team of professionals, from which I’ve gained a wealth of knowledge, experience and substantial growth in my career.”

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