$2 Billion World Trade Transit Hub Slated to Break Ground

Final design work was wrapping up in early summer, and the Port Authority plans to start construction later this year on the permanent PATH transit station.

Contractor Hire Expected for Hub

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is eyeing a late summer groundbreaking for the $2 billion World Trade Center transportation hub, according to a spokesman.

The project team was expected to complete a final design on the station in early summer after hitting several milestones, including finishing the station's environmental impact statement, which requires approval from the Federal Transit Administration. The team also had to request the disbursement of part of the $1.7 billion in FTA funds appropriated to the project, which the Port Authority is supplementing with a $300 million stake.

In the meanwhile, the Port Authority was also expected to hire a construction manager or general contractor for the project, following an RFP issued in the spring. The spokesman said the agency planned to make the hire in July, prior to finalizing the design, in order to have the contractor's input on the plans.

The authority currently has Hill International of Marlton, N.J., on board as a program management consultant, along with a joint-venture architectural consultant consisting of New York-based STV, New York-based DMJM Harris, and Switzerland-based Santiago Calatrava SA, which is the team's design architect.

More Times Square Shuttle Work

New York City Transit is planning to launch the third and final phase for its rehabilitation of the stations serving the shuttle between Times Square and Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan.

In the $170 million final project, the Times Square shuttle station will undergo a complete reconstruction, including removal of the current track and platform layout in order to allow a new alignment. In addition, the plan calls for new staircases to the street, simplification of customer circulation and access paths, and restoration of historic elements of the original 1904 Times Square Station. On the Grand Central side, the agency plans to lengthen platforms to accommodate five-car trains.

NYCT appointed two New York-based architectural firms, Gruzen Samton and DMJM+Harris, to design the final phase, scheduled for completion by 2010.

The first two phases of reconstruction of the Times Square subway complex included rehabilitation of the mezzanine and IRT line, as well as work on the lower levels on the BMT and Flushing lines. The station is the most heavily used in the subway system, serving 600,000 commuters daily.

Work Starts on UV Plant for New York City

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection is moving ahead on the first phases of construction for a new $570 million Catskill/Delaware Ultraviolet Light Disinfection Facility in Mount Pleasant, N.Y. The water disinfection plant, slated for completion in 2010, would also have support facilities in nearby Greenburgh.

The facility would disinfect the city's water supply coming from farther upstate in the Catskills region. The disinfected water would also serve communities in southern Westchester County between the plant site and the city line.

The department has awarded an initial $44.9 million sitework contract to Granite Halmar Construction of Mount Vernon, N.Y. The work involves site preparation, installation of site security features, and excavation for the facility's foundation.

Granite Halmar's contract scope includes building a support and de-watering system for the excavated areas and foundation. It also involves demolition and backfilling of aerators already on site, which the new facility will replace. In addition, the project entails construction of a pre-stressed concrete bridge, roads, utilities, and erosion control features.

Granite Halmar began in June, and is expected to complete its site preparation work next September.