When the eastern half of Hudson Yards—the $25-billion mixed-use development on Manhattan’s West Side—opened in March, it may have been hard to remember that six new office towers, acres of parks, and other structures all sit atop a platform that spans above 30 train tracks and three railway tunnels.

The Eastern Yards platform consists of 25,000 tons of steel and 14,000 cu yd of concrete that stand on 300 caissons. “From an engineering standpoint, it was absolutely incredible,” said one judge.

Keeping the tracks in service and minimizing disruption to trains throughout the construction phase was one of the biggest challenges. The teams were allowed to build over only four tracks at a time and had to closely coordinate with transportation authorities to maximize opportunities when additional track outages were available. That included carefully designing the caissons—braced steel columns and long span steel trusses that form the platform—to ensure no elements interfered with tracks or underground utilities.

Teams also had to engineer complex support systems for structures as large as the 1,296-ft 30 Hudson Yards, which has multistory transfer trusses to distribute column loads.

Logistics was another big task, particularly in managing the haul road, laydown areas, materials supply and sequencing, and erection of the 35,000-ton platform, with the effort aiming to allow cranes to focus on a particular section, complete it and then easily move onto the next area.

The eastern section comprises buildings at 10, 15, 30, 35 and 55 Hudson Yards—with 50 Hudson Yards still under construction—and includes a 1-million-sq-ft luxury shopping center; a 5-acre public square and gardens with 28,000 plants and 200 mature trees; and the Vessel, which has 154 interconnecting stairs with 2,500 individual steps and 80 landings.

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