MTA / LIRR East Site Access Queens and Manhattan
Kiewit Constructors

The $5 billion East Side Access (ESA) program is one of the largest construction efforts ever undertaken by New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). It will provide Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) commuters their first-ever direct access to the East Side of Manhattan, and will increase LIRR’s capacity by 170,000 rides a day. The route extends through nearly 4 miles of tunnels in old industrial and residential areas of Queens and under the East River and Manhattan’s grandest blocks of Park Avenue to Grand Central Terminal (GCT) a historic landmark. Elements include more than 26,000 linear feet of new hard rock, soft-ground, and reconstructed tunnels; major reconfiguration of the lower level of GCT; and new track work, station, and yards. The complex construction program faces major environmental, community relations, safety, and historic preservation challenges.