In accordance to the Tunnel Business Magazine, the Grand Central Madison, known as the East Side Access Project, has been handed over from MTA Construction and Development (MTAC&D) to the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) for operational control. This transfer in control is a significant milestone and signifies the project’s change from a construction site to a railroad terminal.

While the project is currently in the final stages of testing, the terminal is expected to open before the end of this year. With two-level caverns supporting four platforms and eight tracks, it will be the largest passenger rail terminal to be built in the states in nearly 70 years. The project will connect LIRR’s Main and Port Washington lines in Queens to the new terminal beneath Grand Central Terminal (GCT) in Manhattan, NY. 269 trains will be added to the current 667 which will lead to a 41% systemwide service increase.

For more than 21 years, Gall Zeidler Consultants (GZ) has been involved in the tunnel engineering and construction management for this project. GZ has advised on the design, structural and geotechnical instrumentation and monitoring programs, construction, and waterproofing and final lining alternatives.

We congratulate the MTA on this significant milestone and are proud to be part of the project accomplishments from early design stages through construction, ready for operation and beyond.

To learn more about GZ’s involvement with the project, visit our project page.

In the below video, MTA shows impressive behind the scenes footage of how Grand Central Madison has been created:

Video of the making of the Grand Central Madison provided on MTA’s Youtube Channel “mtainfo”