New York Governor Paterson Opens New South Ferry Terminal Station

New Intermodal Center Links Ferry, Bus and Subway to Improve Transit Services

March 16, 2009 -- New York Governor David A. Paterson today opened the new South Ferry Station in Lower Manhattan to the public. The Governor was joined by Senator Charles E. Schumer, Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand, members of the New York Congressional Delegation and New York City elected officials, as well as MTA Chairman H. Dale Hemmerdinger, MTA Executive Director and CEO Elliot G. Sander, to celebrate the project’s completion. South Ferry Station will become one of New York’s true intermodal centers with Peter Minuit Plaza and the planned new bus loop island linking the ferry, subway and bus services.

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“This station represents not only our joint city, state and federal commitment to rebuilding Lower Manhattan, but also our commitment to mass transit in New York State,” said Governor Paterson. “This station is vital to the residents, commuters and tourists who pass through it each day, by allowing for increased subway service, better connections and spurring economic growth in Lower Manhattan. I thank our Congressional delegation for pushing for this funding in Washington. Projects like the South Ferry Station keep New York’s mass transit system among the best in the world.”

The new station makes many improvements to the existing structure. First built in 1905, it had just one exit and could only accommodate the first five cars of each train, requiring passengers to move forward at the Rector Street Station and affecting service on the No. 1 line.

Now with multiple exits, seven escalators and two Americans with Disabilities Act compliant elevators, passengers will be able to easily access the street, and Battery Park, as well as neighboring office buildings and a new free walking transfer to the R/W subway lines at Whitehall Street- South Ferry Station. The renovations expanded the platform to accommodate ten-car trains, which will improve operations and alleviate platform crowding. The new station also includes sufficient overrun track beyond the main platform to allow trains to safely enter at higher speeds.

The new South Ferry Station was financed through $420 million in federal money to assist in the economic recovery and residential development of Lower Manhattan after the attacks on September 11, and $107 million in local funds for a total project budget of $527 million. The project required the construction team to begin work while both supporting the existing South Ferry Station and No. 4/5 subway tunnels and also minimizing interruptions to passenger service.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said: “We are pleased to have contributed $420 million toward the construction of the new South Ferry Terminal Station. This is a true intermodal facility that connects trains, ferries, and buses shortening travel times, and giving people greater access to Lower Manhattan.”

MTA Chairman H. Dale Hemmerdinger said: “The MTA is proud to play a central role in the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan along with our many government partners. This new station will dramatically improve service for both daily commuters and tourists, and it is a proud addition to the critical MTA infrastructure that is the lifeblood of our economy.”

MTA Executive Director and CEO Elliot G. Sander said: “This is the first new subway station to open in New York City in nearly 20 years, and it is a major milestone in the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan, as it is the first major public transportation project to open Downtown since 9/11. This artistically beautiful and highly functional station is a tangible reminder that when the MTA is provided with adequate capital funding, we build monumental works that will benefit generations of New Yorkers for many decades to come.”

In 2007, MTA Capital Construction received an Environmental Quality Award from the Environmental Protection Agency – Region 2 for protecting and enhancing environmental quality throughout the building process. Construction equipment was retrofitted with diesel particulate filters and fueled with Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel to keep air pollution at a minimum. About 85 percent of the construction waste was recycled and best practices in dust, noise and vibration mitigation were followed. The Discovery Channel chronicled the renovations on its program Extreme Engineering.

Over the course of construction, more than 50,000 archaeological artifacts uncovered including an English-era Battery Wall, spanning a distance of almost 600 feet. A section of the wall has been preserved and installed in the new station for all New Yorkers and visitors to see.

The new station displays the MTA Arts for Transit Permanent Art Program’s most recent public artwork installation. Brooklyn-based artists Doug and Mike Starn created a monumental work in bringing the above ground park into the station, titled “See It Split, See It Change.” The multi-part, site-specific installation encompasses the entire interior of the new station terminal concourse and consists of a floor-to-ceiling mosaic map of Manhattan, 230 linear feet of silhouetted trees presented in an innovative fused-glass technique, an image of a single leaf in the same fused-glass technique that leads down to the platform, and a Stainless Steel Fence that features a tree motif and separates the entry from the station.

The MTA last opened a brand new subway station in 1989 with the 63rd & Lexington/Roosevelt Island/21st St.-Queensbridge Stations on the F line.

Source: New York Governor