Liberty Garden

New York State Department of TransportationState of New York

Route 9ALower Manhattan Redevelopment

CEDAR ST

Vehicle Security Center

Liberty StLib

erty St bridge

extension

One World trade

CenterFour

World trade

Center

twoWorld Financial Center

Former deutsche bank site

NatiONaL September 11 memOriaL aNd muSeum

WeSt St/ rOute 9a

GREENWICH ST

October 26, 2011

Lower Manhattan redeveLopMent winter 2011-2012

A Note from NYSDOT’s Commissioner

On September 11, 2001 under a clear blue sky that seemed incongruous with the events that unfolded,

our world changed. The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) was not spared, as friends and fellow employees See Wong Shum, Ignatius Adanga, and Charles Lesperance were taken too soon from us.

In Lower Manhattan, in Washington, D.C., and in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, Americans tragically lost their lives. In the immediate aftermath, Americans, and New Yorkers in particular, showed the best of which they are capable. In these times, it was our worst day; in our response, it was our best.

On the tenth anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001, we paid tribute to those who died and the families left with cherished memories. We remember the emergency responders who risked their safety and health for the good of their fellow citizens, especially those responders who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the service of others. We remember how we, as a state and nation, responded in the moments and days afterward, and the solemn pride we shared in a spirit of togetherness born from such a great tragedy. As we move forward as a partner in the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan, we are dedicated to restoring a new, improved West Street.

Commissioner Joan McDonald

Access to the National September 11 Memorial

Partnering with the National September 11 Memorial, New York City Mayor’s Office and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) and other stakeholders, NYSDOT built the walkway to and from the National September 11 Memorial which opened in September. The walkway is accessible from Greenwich and Albany Streets. To make room for the walkway, which occupies what was a lane of northbound West Street, we shifted the highway westward.

A Better West Street

In the fall of 2001, construction of West Street (Route 9A) was nearing completion. The attacks of

September 11 destroyed the portion of the roadway between Liberty and Vesey Streets. In the past ten years, we’ve made substantial progress not only to rebuild West Street but also to provide an appropriate and respectful setting for the World Trade Center Memorial and to support the economic revitalization of Lower Manhattan. Some of our key accomplishments are shown on page 2 of this newsletter.

In addition to the many improvements you see along the roadway, many of our accomplishments involve work underneath West Street, which lies above the busiest utility network in New York City. We also are working hand in hand with our partner agencies to progress the reconstruction projects near West Street.

Joseph T. Brown, P.E., Route 9A Project Director

Founded in the 1980s by Battery Park City Parks Conservancy, Liberty Community Garden sits just

south of Albany Street at the edge of Route 9A. The September 11th attacks decimated the plots closest to the World Trade Center and covered the others in three to four inches of dust. Community gardener Susan Brady recalls watching the two buildings from her window on Rector Place and photographing what she saw. “It was a painful period when my neighborhood burned for six months…watching 24-wheeled trucks of massive proportion working in a perpetual cycle removing the pieces of the destroyed buildings and taking them to barges on the river. I knew that we had the strength and capability as a city and nation to rebuild.” Gardeners from Seattle, Washington brought the compost east from a million flowers used in a September 11th vigil to the garden. In 2002, the garden was rededicated with two members of the Seattle City Council and several of the Seattle gardeners. In 2009,

In the aftermath of September 11, NYSDOT employees, like all New Yorkers, immediately felt the need to help out in whatever way they could.

Fortunately, NYSDOT has the equipment, expertise, and ability to mobilize quickly in times of crisis and emergencies. Immediately following the attacks, department staff, equipment, and contractors were on hand to help in the rescue and recovery. Staff from the agency’s three regional offices closest to the site—New York City, Long Island, and Hudson Valley—were devoted to the effort, and our maintenance staff was quickly organized to assist the Mayor’s Office of Emergency Management. At one point, about 20 percent of the NYSDOT staff in the NYC office was involved, either in the emergency response and recovery or in coordination and security efforts.

Contractors on five different ongoing NYSDOT projects also were reassigned to the recovery work, and by September 12, construction trucks and equipment, in addition to the staff to operate them, were on site, remaining there until the following spring. One such supervisor, John Marino of the NYSDOT highway maintenance division in Kingston, vividly recalls the attacks and what ensued over the following days. “Shortly after the attacks, we were told to pull our folks off of the highways and to stand by…I did what I normally do when there is an event, I inventoried my fuel supply and the readiness of the equipment.” Marino received a call later that evening asking him to report to work and to start mobilizing equipment. By 11pm on the night of September 12, Marino and a number of other NYSDOT employees were in New York

on Houston and 6th Avenue moving equipment and firefighters to Ground Zero and assisting in rescue and recovery efforts. Recalling that day ten years later, Marino is still impressed and proud of the effort he and his group put forth. They banded together and rose to the occasion. Sadly, it became apparent early on that the rescue effort was to be a recovery and clean-up effort.

Throughout the City, we inspected major bridges for any security vulnerabilities. Initially, we focused on clearing the way so that we could build a “haul road” that would carry construction vehicles, which in turn facilitated greater access to the site. We also made sure that the bridges supporting the haul road were strong enough to carry the heavy debris. Within days, we had set up 22 haul routes to start removing the debris and transporting heavy equipment and large cranes to the site.

Work then started on the construction of the six-lane interim roadway to replace West Street, which was substantially damaged during the attacks. The temporary road was completed in six months, opening in March of 2002. We also restored connections to Battery Park City with the opening of several pedestrian bridges (please see more about these on the back page).

NYSDOT coordinated the emergency effort with FEMA and other agencies and worked with New York City DOT and the Department of Design and Construction to develop a five-year, $130 million-plus program to restore City streets damaged in the attacks. Coordination has been a hallmark of our efforts in Lower Manhattan, and today the Route 9A/West Street project continues to work intensively with sister agencies such as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in an effort to advance and expedite the reconstruction of Lower Manhattan.

A Time to Help

(Continued on back page)

Photos courtesy of the Port Authority of N

ew York and N

ew Jersey

Once the haul road was built alongside West Street, trucks began to carry off debris from the site to barges on the Hudson River.

Twenty-two-wheel flat bed truck on the West Street haul road

State of New York Andrew M. CuomoGovernor

New York State Department of TransportationJoan McDonald CommissionerMarie Corrado, Esq. Major Projects Director

Route 9A Lower Manhattan Redevelopment OfficeJoseph T. Brown, P.E.Director

To learn about traffic detours and other construction-related changes in the neighborhood, please sign up for

our public advisories by emailing us at route9a@dot.state.ny.us. You may also learn about the ongoing construction by attending our monthly Stakeholders’ Committee meetings, held every third Friday of the month at 10:30 AM in the offices of the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center, 1 Liberty Plaza, 20th floor. These meetings describe the NYSDOT construction work in the area for the coming month and what was accomplished in the previous one.

We Want to Hear from You

CONTACT US

Route 9A/Lower Manhattan Redevelopment ProjectNew York State Department of Transportation115 Broadway, Suite 1701 New York, NY 10006

Questions or comments? Call our Community Liaison at 1-800-714-0454

Email: route9a@dot.state.ny.us Please visit our website: www.route9a.info

Lower Manhattan redeveLopMent winter 2011-2012

NYSDOT in the Last Ten Years...

MAY 2, 2002 The pre-fabricated Rector Street pedestrian bridge opens. Work on the FEMA-funded bridge, a joint NYSDOT-Battery Park City Authority effort, began a month after the attacks. The new bridge facilitates access across West Street, from Battery Park City and the World Financial Center to the rest of Lower Manhattan.

AprIL 21, 2010 NYSDOT is finishing construction of the temporary extension to the Liberty Street pedestrian bridge, allowing contractors to begin the construction of the PANYNJ’s Vehicle Security Center. This project is representative of much of NYSDOT’s Lower Manhattan work in recent years, which has focused on expediting the construction of projects adjacent to West Street.

SepTeMBer 12, 2011 The 9/11 Memorial opening ceremony from Route 9A takes place on September 11, 2011. The next day, the Memorial opens to the public. An entrance path takes visitors through security and along West Street to the Memorial. The exit, located parallel to the construction road, provides pedestrian egress. Additionally, by identifying windows of opportunity, NYSDOT completes critical WTC site subsurface utilities and raises the grade of West Street by seven feet along the Memorial frontage.

JULY 20, 2002 More than 4,000 New Yorkers gather at the “Listening to the City” forum to express their views on rebuilding Lower Manhattan. The idea of a promenade connecting the World Trade Center site and Battery Park—and of improving connections across West Street, which is seen as a barrier—draws strong support.

NOveMBer 23, 2003 The Vesey Street pedestrian bridge opens to coincide with the opening of the temporary PATH terminal. Spanning diagonally from 3 World Financial Center to the Verizon Building, the new bridge connects WFC, BPC, and the PATH terminal with the rest of Lower Manhattan. NYSDOT built the $15 million structure in four months.

JULY 5, 2006 The Route 9A South Promenade becomes one of the first Lower Manhattan reconstruction projects to open. The new promenade, between West Thames and Battery Place, provides connections to Battery Park and the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. It supports the project’s goals to improve access and connectivity, which were also expressed at the “Listening to the City” forum.

2008-2009 In 2008 new construction schedules for World Trade Center projects along Route 9A changes the NYSDOT completion schedule by four years, adds significant workload for NYSDOT and reformulates priorities and procedures. As part of this extra work, NYSDOT installs four large underground pipes that connect the Memorial site to the Hudson River for a source of river water to chill the air supply and cool the buildings. The task was completed in one year as part of a cooperative effort by NYSDOT and the Port Authority to identify work that can be performed more efficiently by transferring responsibilities.

At the time of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the reconstruction of West Street as a surface boulevard was nearly complete. The attacks destroyed the section of the roadway in the vicinity of the World Trade Center

(WTC), between Liberty and Vesey Streets. The highway’s sidewalk and two easternmost northbound lanes rested on top of the WTC garage structure, within the slurry wall, or “bathtub,” that holds back the Hudson River. The attacks also heavily damaged the remaining portions of the roadway.

AUGUST 2003 Formerly known as South Bridge, the Liberty Street pedestrian bridge reopens with a temporary, covered, and elevated approach walkway. The bridge, which was damaged on September 11, opens directly into One World Financial Center.

What’s Going On

WeST STreeT Up NOrTH

the gardeners had to pack up and relocate to make room for the new West Thames Park playground. The NYSDOT played an integral part by housing the plants over the winter until they could safely be moved to their new and current home in the improved West Thames Park. “We are thankful to all those who helped us rebuild the community gardens,” said Brady of NYSDOT workers and those who dedicated themselves to restoring and rebuilding the Liberty Community Garden. Today the shrubs and perennials saved on September 11th continue to bloom every year in Battery Park City—a reminder of the community’s resilience and will to survive.

On Wednesday, September 7, 2011, in the wee hours of the morning, the signal post in the median of Route 9A,

the major West Side artery at West 52nd Street, was undermined and the post base collapsed. The northbound left lane was undermined and subsequently closed. NYPD managed emergency traffic control while a team of NYSDOT engineers assessed the situation. Temporary restoration of all the damaged areas, including the Route 9A undermined

concrete pavement, median, and traffic signals, was completed. Permanent restoration work will begin in the spring.

NYSDOT supports the (PANYNJ’s) East- West Pedestrian Concourse project and shifted the 9A southbound lanes west onto a newly constructed detour area, depicted in the mid ground. This was followed by the removal of the temporary southbound bridge and accompanying work by PANYNJ, depicted in the background. The concourse construction is visible in the foreground.

Liberty Garden (Continued from front)

MArCH 29, 2002 The temporary Route 9A/West Street roadway between Liberty and Vesey Streets opens, restoring mobility to the area and allowing the reopening of the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. NYSDOT began construction of the six-lane interim roadway as soon as access into the damaged area was permitted, completing construction in six months. September 20022001

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%

Very important Important Somewhat important

Unimportant No preferenc No opinion at this time

Importance of Improving the Ability to Cross West Street by Foot and to Connect the Two Sections of Lower Manhattan

Combined results from both Javits forums Online Dialogue

rOute 9a

2 WFC

3 WFC

Winter Garden

World Trade Center

World Financial Center