BergerWorld: 3rd Quarter 2005

Within the next twenty years, NYC will require an additional 68 million square feet of commercial office space to accommodate anticipated growth. The city will also need additional residential development, leisure centers and retail space. The Hudson Yards area, located adjacent to midtown Manhattan, offers the ideal location for this growth. Under an ambitious plan, the 59 block area from Hudson River Park to Eighth Avenue between West 28th Street and West 43rd will be re-zoned to accommodate 40 million square feet of new development, making Hudson Yards one of the largest business districts in the city.

The keystone of this development is a 1.5-mile extension of the 7 subway line from Times Square to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. This extension will also increase capacity on the 7 line, allowing up to 30 trains per hour and accommodating 600,000 riders.

In association with Parsons Brinkerhoff, the Berger Group evaluated the impacts of the proposed subway expansion and the related development of new stations and office space on traffic, transit and pedestrian movements. Transit specialists modeled traffic flow at 240 intersections and recommended a traffic management plan to minimize congestion at key points. Team members also conducted environmental screening and sampling of more than 100 properties, including current and former industrial and manufacturing facilities. To accelerate the environmental review, the Team developed a standardized environmental impact assesment which meets the guidelines set by ISO 14001, as well as city and state requirements. The Team also assessed the construction impacts and short-, medium- and long-term effects of the project on air quality, public health and natural resources.