Fulton Street Transit Center

The Fulton Street Transit Center is a $1.2 billion project of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a public agency of the state of New York. The includes station rehabilitations, new underground passageways, and an above-ground station entrance building at the intersection of Fulton Street and Broadway in New York City, above several existing stations.

The construction of the entrance building is inactive as of July 2008. On-going construction activity is occurring beneath the surface to add connecting tunnels, improve underground passenger flow in existing subway stations, and create entrances corresponding to the new layout.

The project is intended to improve access to and connections between 12 MTA subway services stopping at Manhattan's Fulton Street, PATH service and the World Trade Center station in Lower Manhattan. Construction, which began in 2005, has no final approved plan and no schedule for completion.Stations served by the NYCS|2, NYCS|3, NYCS|4, NYCS|5, NYCS|A, NYCS|C, NYCS|E, NYCS|J, NYCS|M, NYCS|Z, NYCS|R, and NYCS|W services will be rehabilitated and connected via an east-west underground passageway. A high-visibility Transit Center will be constructed, with entrances on Broadway between Fulton Street and John Street. The station will be handicapped accessible.

In addition to work on the four linked stations, including a large entrance building at Broadway and Fulton Street, the Dey Street Passageway is being built outside fare control"Fulton Street Transit Center, Final Environmental Impact Statement and Section 4(f) Evaluation", Ch. 3, p. 3-21 PDFlink| [http://www.mta.info/capconstr/fstc/documents/feis/chapters/ch03.pdf] |1.73 MiB ] to connect to the Cortlandt Street (BMT Broadway Line) station, and a passageway inside fare control will connect that station with the World Trade Center (IND Eighth Avenue Line) station.

The major construction activities of the project include the following:
* The Fulton Street station on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line is being rehabilitated.
* The Fulton Street station on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line is being rehabilitated, and new entrances have been opened at the corner of Broadway and Maiden Lane (for the northbound platform) and at Cortlandt Street and Broadway (for the southbound platform). [http://www.mta.info/capconstr/fstc/construction.htm]
* The mezzanine serving the Broadway–Nassau Street station on the IND Eighth Avenue Line, which currently consists of several ramps on either side of Nassau Street, will be straightened.
* A new station building was to be constructed along the east side of Broadway, between Fulton and John Streets. The new station would incorporate the landmark Corbin Building at the corner of Broadway and John Street. This portion of the project is being reviewed due to cost over runs and a new design is expected in the winter of 2008. [http://www.lowermanhattan.info/future/looking_ahead/transportation/fulton_street.aspx]
* A new passageway, Dey Street Passageway (outside of the fare control"Fulton Street Transit Center, Final Environmental Impact Statement and Section 4(f) Evaluation", Ch. 3, p. 3-21 PDFlink| [http://www.mta.info/capconstr/fstc/documents/feis/chapters/ch03.pdf] |1.73 MiB ] ) is being built under Dey Street, connecting the Fulton Street/Broadway–Nassau Street station complex to the Cortlandt Street station on the BMT Broadway Line.
* A new connection will provide a free transfer between the Cortlandt Street station on the BMT Broadway Line and the World Trade Center station on the IND Eighth Avenue Line.
* A new entrance building will be constructed on the southwest corner of Broadway and Dey Street, providing direct access to the Dey Street passageway.
* The entire complex will be made ADA compliant.

Construction progress

The project has had several delays, with the completion date delayed from 2007 to 2010. There have also been several design cutbacks. The free transfer from the Cortlandt Street and World Trade Center stations had been dropped from the plans, but was later restored using MTA funds; the passageway underneath Dey Street has been narrowed from 40 feet to 29 feet; and the design of the entrance facility on the east side of Broadway was simplified.

On June 27, 2006, the New York Times reported that the project had been running $45 million over a $799 million budget, but that the project design will not be further curtailed. The Times had reported on June 2, 2006, that the overrun was due to the cost of relocating 148 business and acquiring properties along Broadway where the new station building will be located.

On January 28, 2008 the MTA revised its costs and estimate of completion and indicated the project is likely not to include the domed structure which had been planned, or any substantial above-ground structure. The revised cost of the below-ground work is now $910 million and it is expected to be completed in 2010. It also announced a 30-day review of plans for the above-ground structure. [cite news|title="Fulton transit-hub plan collapses, MTA's $900M boondoggle"|last=Gallahue|first=Patrick|publisher=New York Post |page=3 |date=2008-01-29 |accessdate=2008-01-29 | url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/01292008/news/regionalnews/mtas_900m_boondoggle_681543.htm]

In March 2008, the MTA indicated that an above ground structure will be built at the site without specifying if it would remain in the form of a public transit center or be sold to a private developer and only provide an entrance to the subway lines beneath the street. [cite newspaper |date=2008-03-17 |url=http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_253/somesortofbuilding.html |title=Some sort of building will rise at Fulton, M.T.A. says]

In June 2008, Chris Ward, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey prepared a report for David Paterson, governor of the state of New York, reversing years of optimism regarding the time and resources required to complete projects related to the reconstruction of the World Trade Center including the Fulton Transit Center.cite web|title=Report of the Directors of the Port Authority |url=http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/nyregion/city_room/20080630_WTCAssessmentBookFF.pdf?scp=2&sq=fulton%20transit&st=cse | publisher=Port Authority of New York and New Jersey | date=2008-06-30|last=Ward |first=Chris]

In July 2008, the Federal Transit Administration announced it would not fund the cost overruns associated with the Fulton Street Transit Center. [cite newspaper| date=2008-07-16 | publisher=New York Daily News | quote= The Federal Transit Administration won't bail out the MTA's troubled Fulton St. subway hub with an infusion of more money, a top Bush administration official said. "Absolutely not. That's capped out," federal transit Administrator James Simpson said Tuesday when asked if the FTA would increase its commitment for the Fulton Transit Center.|title=Feds to MTA on more hub cash: No way | url=http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2008/07/16/2008-07-16_feds_to_mta_on_more_hub_cash_no_way-2.html]

Stations

The Fulton Street Transit Center will connect a total of six subway stations, providing a total of thirteen services:
*NYCS-bull-small|2NYCS-bull-small|3 Fulton Street on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line
*NYCS-bull-small|4NYCS-bull-small|5 Fulton Street on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line
*NYCS-bull-small|ANYCS-bull-small|C Broadway–Nassau Street on the IND Eighth Avenue Line
*NYCS-bull-small|E World Trade Center on the IND Eighth Avenue Line
*NYCS-bull-small|JNYCS-bull-small|MNYCS-bull-small|Z Fulton Street on the BMT Nassau Street Line
*NYCS-bull-small|NNYCS-bull-small|RNYCS-bull-small|W Cortlandt Street on the BMT Broadway Line

References

* [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/23/nyregion/23station.html Over Budget, Fulton Street Transit Hub Faces a Redesign] (New York Times, May 23, 2006)
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/02/nyregion/02fulton.html Shops Near Planned Transit Hub Face Eviction] (New York Times, June 2, 2006)
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/27/nyregion/27mbrfs-002.html Fulton Street Transit Center Plan Stands] (New York Times, June 27, 2006)

External links

* [http://www.mta.info/capconstr/fstc/ MTA Fulton Street Transit Center page]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/08/nyregion/20070108_FULTON_GRAPHIC.html New York Times animated graphic of layout]
*NYCS ref|http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/stations?5:3096|IRT East Side Line|Fulton Street
*NYCS ref|http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/stations?6:3126|IRT West Side Line|Fulton Street
*NYCS ref|http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/stations?192:1407|BMT Nassau St./Jamaica Line|Fulton Street
*NYCS ref|http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/stations?7:777|IND 8th Avenue|Broadway/Nassau Street
*Station Reporter — [http://www.stationreporter.net/bwaynass.htm Broadway Nassau/Fulton Street Complex]