Work On Hudson Yards Platform Over Railroad Tracks Begins
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A developer has taken another step toward filling a big hole in Manhattan's skyline.
As WCBS 880's Alex Silverman reported Wednesday, work has begun on a 37,000-ton platform that will cover the Hudson Yards railroad tracks, the future home to a $20 billon, 28-acre mixed-use development.
The platform on the West Side will cover 30 train tracks, an engineering feat that's a little like surgery, said Michael Samuelian, a vice president with Related Companies, the site's developer.
"The only place where you can actually place the columns are between tracks, where there's enough space to actually clear it," he explained.
"We have a very, very complex 3D computer model, which is basically like an X-ray of the underground," Samuelian added.
More info about Hudson Yards project
Samuelian noted that Grand Central Terminal was built over an open rail yard more than a century ago.
Bloomberg News reported Wednesday that Related has reached an agreement to finance the deck, including a $250 million loan from Deutsche Bank, paving the way for the work to begin.
Related is transforming the largest undeveloped site in New York into a new neighborhood with 5,000 apartments, five office towers, 100 shops, 20 restaurants, a cultural center, an observation deck shaped like a spaceship and 14 acres of open space and parks. The estimated completion date is 2018.
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