Cuomo Announces East Side Access Construction Milestone

On May 27, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced completion of civil construction on the NYC Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) East Side Access megaproject. Outfitted with 17 high-rise Schindler escalators, including the longest in the MTA system at 182 ft, the project connects the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) to a new, 350,000-ft² passenger terminal under Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. Conceived in the 1960s, the East Side Access project includes the largest new train terminal to be built in the U.S. since the 1950s and represents the first expansion of the LIRR in more than a century. As part of the announcement, Cuomo and MTA Construction and Development President Janno Lieber led a tour of the project during which Lieber observed that, despite challenges, the MTA stuck to its commitment to complete the project by 2022. “East Side Access is one of North America’s largest transportation projects — an audacious US$11-billion idea changing the entire regional transportation system,” Cuomo said. Set to open next year, East Side Access will “significantly” cut travel times and ease the commute into Manhattan for “countless” travelers, he stated.