Tunnel to Grand Central rolling along at $1M per foot

NEW YORK (AP) — A massive new commuter rail project below New York City's Grand Central Terminal — one of the nation's largest transportation upgrades — is slowly rolling forward, including a tunnel costing $1 million per foot, the chief engineer said Wednesday.

Once finished, the terminal will cover five city blocks and reach 14 stories deep under Grand Central, allowing Long Island Rail Road passengers to get off on Manhattan's east side.

The new terminal will bring an estimated 160,000 passengers daily — about half of LIRR's projected riders — from the far end of Long Island through a new Queens station in the Sunnyside neighborhood linked to the 120-foot tunnel under Northern Boulevard.

MTA officials say the delays were due to the challenge of securing funding while carting away millions of cubic yards of what Horodniceanu calls "muck" from blasting and boring through rock and mud.