Several agencies are coordinating traffic and utility impacts

The City of New York is working to update its water-supply system, including rebuilding and replacing miles of water mains in Manhattan that tie into the third water tunnel. The project is extending to Lower Manhattan, where work will take place in north Tribeca around the Holland Tunnel rotunda, on Hudson and adjacent streets, through winter 2015.

View the city DDC’s project presentation here.

Preliminary work for the Third Water Tunnel Trunk project (No. MED596) kicks off with test pits the week of August 23rd. Test pits are small contained excavations, usually around 10 square feet, conducted at various locations and allow DDC to identify the location of existing sub-surface infrastructure and utility hardware. The information gathered from the test pits is used to determine the geometry of the new trunk water main. The test-pit excavations are restored or plated over upon completion.

During the test pitting, which normally takes one to three days each, parking may be limited but pedestrian access will be maintained. The planned test-pit locations include:

• Hudson Street from Worth St. to Laight St.
• Hubert Street from West St. to Hudson St.
• Beach Street from Greenwich St. to Hudson St.
• N. Moore Street from West St. to Hudson St.
• Franklin Street from Greenwich St. to Hudson St.

The water-tunnel project is being managed by the city Department of Design and Construction (DDC), which is working closely with the Department of Transportation (DOT) to maintain traffic. A significant element of the project is the installation of a new 48-inch trunk water main that will, in the future, be connected through a shaft distribution chamber to City Water Tunnel No. 3. 

In addition to the water trunk-main installation, the city will jointly coordinate infrastructure work with city agencies and utility companies to improve electric sewer, gas, steam, and fiber-optic facilities. Through the joint-bid process, the project will occur in multiple segments that will remove old ducts and upgrade existing utilities -- improving capacity for decades to come. Mass roadbed excavation, removal of unused facilities and installation of new ones, and roadway restoration will be performed, including cobblestone-street rebuilding.

The project is scheduled is expected to begin full operation approximately mid-September 2010, when the maintenance and protection of traffic (MPT) plan takes effect. The work will be performed in three phases, beginning with two areas of West Street at N. Moore in the bikeway.

Phase II will overlap with the first phase of work, taking place on Hubert Street between West and Hudson, and on Hudson Street between Laight and Beach. The start date has not yet been announced, but is expected to take approximately three years to complete the heavy trenching and large water-main installation.

Phase III will begin after Phase II, continuing for approximately 2.5 years. It will include work on Hudson Street from Beach to Worth, as well as on Beach, N. Moore, and Franklin Streets. The overall projected completion date is winter 2015.

Crews are expected to work the allowable permitted hours of weekdays from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., and weekends from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (with no noisy work before 8 a.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. weekends).

Hudson Street will be reduced to two lanes throughout the project, with plans to detour northbound traffic onto West and Canal Streets for access to the Holland Tunnel. Traffic lanes exiting the tunnel also will be reduced. NYPD Traffic Enforcement Agents (TEAs), variable-message sign (VMS) boards, and other signs will be posted in several locations around the work zones and at key streets to help redirect traffic. The DOT will monitor traffic in the area and make changes to the MPT plan as necessary.

The DDC’s project community liaison Karen Butler is now starting the outreach program, and is building an e-mail notification list; subscribe by e-mailing hudsonstprojectccl@gmail.com. Butler also will directly contact local residents and businesses.

In addition, the city will post audio notices on 511, the state traffic-notification hotline. Operators at 311 will be informed of the project to field questions and concerns. Real-time traffic cameras and sensors also will be installed in coming months to help motorists plan their travel.

Several city agencies will work together with utility companies to coordinate impacts to traffic and utility service, and to keep the community notified for the duration of the work -- including the DDC, DOT, Dept. of Environmental Protection, and Dept. of City Planning.

The Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center is helping coordinate the project with various stakeholders, such as the private utility companies, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and others, as well as sharing information with Community Board 1, Alliance for Downtown New York, elected officials, area residents, and other stakeholders.

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