WSP USA is part of the joint venture of three firms responsible for final design and construction phase services for the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) East Side Access project, which brings LIRR service directly to Grand Central Terminal. Partner firms include STV and Parsons Corporation.
With over 700 miles of track, 11 branch lines and 124 stations, the LIRR is the most extensive commuter rail network in the U.S. Chartered in 1834, it is also the oldest railroad in the nation still operating under its original name. Yet the reach and capacity of the railroad has remained unchanged since it first connected to Manhattan’s Penn Station in 1910. Now, for the first time in more than a century, the LIRR has embarked on its first major expansion with East Side Access.
The project includes significant construction at two of New York City’s busiest railroad facilities: Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan, and Harold Interlocking in Queens.
Grand Central Terminal accommodates Metro-North Railroad (MNR) services, with MNR platforms on two levels. The project converted many of the tracks and platforms on the Lower Level into a new LIRR passenger concourse. Existing structural elements were re-framed to create space for escalators.
Harold Interlocking accommodates LIRR and Amtrak trains approaching Penn Station from the east. The project creates an interlocking of approximately double the existing size, including 50 new turnouts. Three new tracks descend into tunnels in the middle of the expanded interlocking in Queens that connect to the lower level of the existing 63rd Street Tunnel crossing under the East River. Once in Manhattan, the route extends through new tunnels to Grand Central Madison terminal which includes two new station caverns under Park Avenue, with upper and lower-level tracks for a total of eight tracks and four platforms. The Grand Central Madison terminal located below the existing lower level of Grand Central Terminal also includes a mezzanine level in the station caverns with connecting cross passageways, stairs/escalators to upper and lower levels, and escalators from the station caverns that rise to a large concourse with passenger amenities also accessible from the street entrance. The project includes the construction of twelve tunnel vent plants, traction power and systems’ facilities, and train storage yards/maintenance facilities.
The project will also allow the LIRR to add service from key locations on Long Island and free up track space at Penn Station.
Construction was planned, designed, staged and executed to minimize disruption to existing services and communities. The Manhattan side of the project has been likened to orthoscopic ‘keyhole’ surgery, with minimal impact on Grand Central Terminal and limited construction traffic in Manhattan.
Grand Central Madison service is estimated to shorten the average commuter’s time by as much as 40 minutes each day. The project did not impact the on-time performance of existing services, which helped to maintain public support.
