The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Transportation through the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), is building the WTC Transportation Hub. The FTA has committed approximately $1.9 billion towards the $2.2 billion project with the Port Authority investing the difference. The full-service, regional transportation hub will replace the temporary WTC PATH Station currently in place, and restore and enhance the transportation connections which existed prior to September 11, 2001. It is designed to meet the future needs of a redeveloped WTC, serve as the centerpiece of a transportation network that links New Jersey with downtown Manhattan, and ensure the long-term accessibility and economic vitality of Lower Manhattan.
Designed by Downtown Design Partnership comprised of DMJM Harris and STV, Inc., in association with world-famous architect Santiago Calatrava, the transportation hub features a glass roof with ribbed arches that allow sunlight to filter down to the interior of the building.
Construction of the 800,000 square-foot complex began with a groundbreaking on September 6, 2005, which set the stage for the redevelopment of the rest of the site. The station will be in service throughout the construction period. It will be constructed in phases, with the first phase of the permanent Hub becoming operational as early as 2011 and will feature:
- Enhanced permanent PATH facilities and services incorporating three full-service extended 10-car platforms and five tracks to provide safe, reliable and convenient operations that will also accommodate projected travel demand.
- Transit Hall, a multi-story central arrival hall incorporating a Lower Concourse, an Upper (Balcony) Concourse, a public waiting area, and first class retail amenities.
- An integrated network of underground pedestrian connections from the Lower and Upper Concourses that will lead to adjoining New York City Transit (NYCT) subway stations and the MTA NYCT Fulton Street
Transit Center through the Dey Street Corridor, as well as to other locations on and around the WTC site, including the WTC Memorial and the World Financial Center (WFC).
The WTC Transportation Hub will seamlessly link PATH service with almost all downtown subway lines and the Battery Park City Ferry Terminal. Additionally, underground passageways will provide efficient access to destinations within the WTC complex and to surrounding areas.
Transit Hall
- From the Lower Concourse, connections will be available to PATH trains to Newark, Hoboken, and Journal Square; northbound and southbound R/W lines; northbound and southbound 1 line; and the NYCT Fulton Street Transit Center allowing separate connections to the 4/5, J/M/Z, A/C, and 2/3 lines.
- From the Upper Concourse, direct connections will be available to the southbound R/W line, the northbound 1 line, the E, A/C, and 2/3 lines, and the NYCT Fulton Street Transit Center, allowing separate connections to the 4/5, J/M/Z, A/C. and 2/3 lines.
North/South Connections
- Sub-grade pedestrian connectors will extend north from the Transit Hall to provide access to Vesey Street, a separate connection to the E, A/C, and 2/3 lines and Tower 2.
- Sub-grade pedestrian connectors will extend south from the Transit Hall to provide access to Cortlandt Way, the corner of Liberty and Church Streets, separate connections to the southbound R/W and northbound 1 lines, and Towers 3 and 4.
East/West Connections
- The east-west pedestrian corridor will offer a safer, faster and traffic-free way to and from work for those who travel via the 2/3, 4/5, and J/M/Z subway lines to Fulton Street and then head for destinations west of Broadway.
From the west end of the concourse extending from the Transit Hall, direct access will be provided to One World Trade Center, The Freedom Tower, and other components of the WTC complex and continuing west to the World Financial Center and Battery Park City. For PATH commuters working at the WFC or in Battery Park City, this connector will eliminate the current need to double back along Vesey Street or Liberty Street. Employees of companies with locations at both the WFC and across the river in Jersey City will appreciate the convenience of taking the pedestrian connection to PATH for travel between their offices.
The WTC Transportation Hub will serve an important role in providing seamless intermodal transfers for thousands of commuters. Designed as a “green” structure featuring state-of-the-art safety, security, and communications systems, it will offer regular PATH service through 2025 and beyond. It will also provide a large retail
presence at the WTC Site with approximately 200,000 square feet planned for a wide variety of restaurants and retail stores that will improve the quality of life for those who live, work, and visit downtown.
The new climate-controlled facility will be fully ADA compliant and will provide superior navigation patterns augmented by easy-to-read way-finding signs, as well as extensive vertical circulation systems.
Designed to serve some 250,000 pedestrians per day, the new World Trade Center Transportation Hub is a critical component of the WTC redevelopment and Lower Manhattan’s revitalization. It will provide a significant economic boost for the region by increasing business and the quality of life for the people who work in this region. A substantial portion of downtown employees and visitors arrive by way of PATH and the subway lines serving the area.
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