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Ooh, the debate over whether or put the West Side Highway underground for a stretch on the Upper West Side (Lincoln Center area, really) in the West 60s is examined in the NY Times. And there's a graphic of how the tunnel would be placed and how new parkspace would be created as a result. The undergrounding of the highway won't happen for at least 10 years, and the project's funding is debatable, but the Riverside South Planning Corporation is excavating the ground.
But with the box ready when the viaduct needs to be replaced, the cost of rerouting the highway could be about the same as building a new viaduct. Some excavation would still be necessary, because the space for the box between 65th and 69th Streets was filled in when the first of the apartment buildings was being built. The box was suggested in the city's 1992 agreement that allowed Riverside South to be built, and the responsibility for building it was the developer's.The RSPC's executive director Michael Bradley emphasizes that the $180 million is not Westway or Boston's Big Dig, and says this project, a "Rubik's Cube of construction" will "save a ton of money and heartaches." And Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe likes the idea, saying, "I think a lot of people now realize no matter how nice Hudson River Park is, it would have been nicer if Westway had been built in some configuration. The highway would have been underground, we would have had a much larger park and a much better connection from the community to the park."
Graphic from the NY Times
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That graphic seems to exaggerate the amount of land at issue. Can anyone produce one that's to scale?
That graphic seems to exaggerate the amount of land at issue. Can anyone produce one that's to scale?
They should just tear it down. With gas at $3 and rising, driving is going to become a luxury pursuit again. Reclaim the waterfront for the city.
$3 is a luxury pursuit? By your theory the rest of the world paying $8 per gallon must live like Sheiks! $3 is nothing! I drive and I gladly pay $3.
The parts of the world that pay $8 for gas also aren't totally dependent on cars for every action of daily life.
To Trump's credit, he had a plan for burying the roadway when he originally built those buildings that he was prepared to fund, at the exact same time that the city was stupidly spending money to repair the current viaduct. Good 'ol Jerry Nadler killed the whole thing out of a personal vendetta against Trump (Trump had called him "fat" at some point in the past, and he was angry that Trump's plan would have increased the value of the apartments he was building) This silly revenge left us with an uninhabitable park for 15 years.
People now realize that Westway would have been good for the city? Oh geez, really? Well, we have to thank the environuts and their 10 year fight to protect the striped bass, which apprently, couldn't spawn anywhere along the hundreds of miles of both sides of the Hudson and thousands of miles elsewhere but only on those 10 miles along Manhattan.
There are many things I wonder about, but how the city allowed the old Penn Station to be torns down and how the city and state allowed a project, which would have benefited miilions of its citizens, to be killed by demagogues are two things that forever bother me.
Yes, it should be buried. Actually, it should be torn down and carted away; there is no need for private cars in NYC and there are way too many of them.
Gas prices in the US are now about in line with what Europeans pay. Their high prices go in part to fund government projects; ours go straight to Mobil-Exxon fat cat salaries.
I'm curious where - besides Iraq (ironically enough) you think gas is $8/gallon. Or even anywhere near that.
Trump's "plan" was for the govt to pay for moving the highway. Funny how people think it's unfair for the govt to tell landlords what they can charge for rent, but not for developers to have the govt pay to increase the value of their property.
Gas in the US is still much cheaper than in Europe. When I was in Germany a couple of weeks ago it was going for 1.40 Euro/liter, which is something like $7/gallon.
The FDR drive could use the same treatment. That could double the width of the East River Park and eliminate the noise that ruins much of the pleasure derived from visiting that park. And then even some city streets like Canal Street could use the same treatment. Reduce the surface Canal Street to a simple 2 lane only local road and use the remaining surface to widen the already overwhelmed sidewalks. Since most drivers use it to get across town, just bury the damn thing. I know, lots of subways under there, but it can be done.
Most major roadways, like the plumbing and electrical wiring in a home, are (sometimes) a necessity - but do not necessarily need to be seen or heard.
Drewo is 100% right. Other cities abound with underground roads (Paris and Oslo come to mind). Let's bury as many major roads in New York that we can. But why stop at roads? Let's build underground rail connections to the airports. A high speed rail loop from Ground Zero to Grand Central and Penn Station while we're at it. The Second Avenue subways too while we're at it. Let's really put the sandhogs and the prefab tunnels to work. Here's to our subterranean future!