Squeezed between towers and tunnels under construction, and with only two street access points, crews are digging away at the third and final phase of the now popular High Line on the West Side of Manhattan. While many questions loom regarding coordination among multiple other parties and future funding for some aspects of work, High Line participants are benefiting from lessons learned from the previous phases and public embrace of the project.
When construction on the first two sections of the elevated High Line park began in 2006, New York City officials and other project stakeholders spent a lot of time explaining what was then a little-known undertaking to nearby residents and businesses. Today, with those sections completed and in use by the public, officials no longer need to explain the $243-million project to transform a 79-year-old, 1.5-mile-long rail trestle into a park. But with work under way on the third and final phase, which runs alongside one of Manhattan's largest developments and sits adjacent to several other projects as well as Lincoln Tunnel traffic, officials still spend a lot of time talking. This time, however, it's all about coordination.