Construction update part two: Worth Street

So, I’ve got some bad news, and some bad news. (Actually, there is a little bit of good news.) The first: there’s another 10 months AT LEAST to go on the Worth Street construction project. The second: a lot of the schedule is contingent on ConEd. But here’s some progress: West Broadway to Church will be opened to one-way, east-bound traffic as of next week!

The work here started in May of 2016 – coming up on three years ago even though it feels like it’s been longer than that. The overall scope: replace all the water mains, sewers, sidewalks, curbs, roadbeds and utilities. There will also be new traffic lights and street lighting by the time it’s done. (To get regular email updates from the DDC, send a request to worthstreetccl@gmail.com.)

The city’s Department of Design and Construction does the work, but they have to make way for other agencies to do their piece of it, including ConEd. Those agencies have their own schedules that don’t always dovetail with the city. As a result, “Getting through an intersection can take years,” said Ian Michaels, executive director of public information for the DDC. “Digging has to be done by hand, and we are required to keep traffic flowing – we can’t close the intersection.”

Michaels said the following schedule will hinge on ConEd’s plans, but here’s his best estimate:


HUDSON TO W. BWAY: Con Ed is scheduled to begin in May with the installation of freezing pits in order to relocate the oil-o-static electric feeder (sounds like some ‘50s marketing, but this is the casing that protects underground cables) at the Church Street intersection. Once the work at Church Street is completed then the DDC has approximately one month’s work remaining to restore the roadway. Anticipated completion is December 2019 but could be affected by Con Edison’s schedule. This block does have barricades along the south side of the street and is not yet fully restored. It is open to one-way westbound traffic and will remain that way until December 2019.

W. BWAY TO CHURCH: This block will be open to one-way eastbound traffic by Feb. 15. Anticipated completion is in December 2019 but is contingent on the Con Edison interference work at Church Street intersection, the scaffolding removal at 40 Worth Street and the completion of the MTA work on W. Broadway between Worth and Thomas.

SW CORNER OF BROADWAY AND WORTH: Con Edison is currently working at the SW corner of Broadway & Worth, which is preventing DDC from working from Church Street to Broadway, but we expect that area to be completed by December 2019. The block between Church Street and Broadway also has a ConEd freezing pit as described on the first block and will be removed when the oil-o-static electric feeder is relocated at the Church Street intersection with an anticipated completion in December 2019.

 
Tags:

9 Comments

  1. The Okonite Oilostatic Transmission System dates back to the 1930s.

  2. And if they can only get the construction workers to smoke pot under the scaffolding at the END of the day, instead of the BEGINNING of the day when they are on the job, that would be great too!

  3. Who wants to take the over/under on a Dec 2019 finish?
    let’s hope they can fully complete one intersection by then.

    Also, is the DDC’s best plan for major construction “let’s rip up the street and hope ConEd can pencil us into their schedule sometime in the next 12-24 months”? Laughable.

  4. Does anyone have any idea when the nightmare around West Broadway, Chambers and Warren will be over?

  5. There is a Quality of Life & Service Delivery Committee meeting next Thursday the 21st at the MBPO, 1 Centre Street, 19th Fl. South. I attended the last one which included 17 people representing the DDC & Con Ed. Their timeline sounded significantly different from this – much longer. I am attending again and encourage others to do the same. There were only 5 residents of the community in attendance which was disappointing. Those who did attend demanded more transparency and honesty from both agencies.

  6. this is classic nyc bureaucracy at it’s finest. if a private company and owner were doing this construction it would be done in 2 months.

  7. Does anyone know what they are currently doing on the corner of broadway and Worth? Finally see some movement. Hoping they don’t rip the street up again…

Comment: