World Trade Center Transportation Hub Project

R. Baker & Son was contracted by Tishman/Turner, A Joint Venture (TTJV) to perform the East H&M Wall Demolition Work on behalf of the Port Authority for the World Trade Center Transportation Hub Project in New York City.

Demolition Scope included:

• Performing demolition and removal of approximately 25,000 sq. feet of foundation wall of varying thickness up to 8 ft.
• Select temporary steel was required for re-bracing of walls.
• Removal and restoration of approximately 1,500 square feet of street paving
• Demolition and removal of 12 large temporary steel braces as new construction progressed.
• All work abutted MTA property
• All work required MTA approval and close coordination.
• Temporary weather-tight partitions were required inside the adjoining station areas.
• All work was required to be performed in multiple phases and required extensive engineering and off-hours work.
• We had to interface with numerous other trades and contract holders in the WTC project area.

Remnants of the former H&M Structure - Portions of the former H&M Structure remnants at the WTC Site were demolished to permit the construction of future site program. This includes the ring sections below the 1 Line Subway box as well as in the areas of excavation of the East Bathtub. During excavation, a few ring sections were extracted and if found to be in salvageable condition, transported to Hangar 17, John F. Kennedy International Airport (Hanger 17). In addition, 2 ring sections were removed and used for evaluation and testing as part of the PATH Tunnel Security Program. The portion of the H&M bathtub wall along Church Street remained and become a part of the future east bathtub wall and future WTC development. In order to stabilize the existing wall in its current location and absent of its support slabs, tiebacks were installed to provide lateral restraint for the wall against the existing soil pressure due to Church Street.

Steel in the form of a cross – The steel in a form of a cross structure is currently mounted to the existing H&M structure. The project demolished a majority of the remaining components of the former H&M Structure remnant, including the portion of the structure supporting the steel in the form of a cross. As a result, the steel in the form of a cross structure was removed from its support and transported to Hanger 17 (or an alternate location to be determined) until its final location is determined. The temporary relocation and transport of the artifact was conform to the RPP.

Remnant of the former Vesey Street Access Stairs – As referenced in the FEIS and ROD, the WTC Transportation Hub project involved excavation of the east bathtub. A portion of the scope of the east bathtub construction was to excavate the site below the Vesey Street Access Stairs remnant to the depth required to allow for the WTC Transportation Hub project to be constructed. The east bathtub construction scope therefore included maintaining the remnant in its current location by underpinning the structure and bracing the supports during excavation. The condition and appearance of the structure at grade was not affected by the work. The final disposition of the Vesey Street Stairs is not within the scope of the WTC Transportation Hub project as discussed in previous Section 106 Consulting Parties meetings and as referenced in the ROD.

PATH's History:

PATH's first century saw ridership soar in the early decades, decline significantly as the motor vehicle entered its golden age, before rising again in recent decades. Like other rail lines, PATH went from private ownership to public ownership during the 20th Century. PATH's second century has begun with a Port Authority commitment for a massive reinvestment.

PATH was originally known as the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad, and later as the H&M Hudson Tubes. The railroad was first planned in 1873 to link the major railroad stations in New Jersey with New York City, but early construction was intermittent. The first trains ran in 1907 and revenue service started between Hoboken and 19th Street at midnight on February 26, 1908. On July 19, 1909, service began between Lower Manhattan and Jersey City, through a new set of tunnels located south of the first pair. After the completion of the uptown Manhattan extension to 33rd Street and the westward extension to Newark (and the now-defunct Manhattan Transfer in 1911), the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad was considered to be complete.

The construction of the Holland Tunnel, Lincoln Tunnel and the George Washington Bridge between the 1920s and 1940s led people away from the railroad and ridership declined steadily. In the 1950s, H&M fell into bankruptcy, but continued to operate. The planning of the World Trade Center enabled the Port Authority to eventually purchase and maintain the Tubes in return for the rights to build the World Trade Center on the land occupied by H&M's Hudson Terminal, the Lower Manhattan terminus of the Tubes.