300-foot timber bridge connecting the High Line and Moynihan Train Hall has been installed

The elevated pathway that will connect the High Line to the new Moynihan Train Hall hit a major milestone this week. The 260-foot-long timber bridge has been craned into place and is currently suspended 25 feet over Dyer Avenue. The new footbridge connects Manhattan West’s public plaza Magnolia Court to a pedestrian pathway at West 31st Street, providing an easier way of accessing the Moynihan Train Hall without having to cross multiple streets. The timber bridge will link to the so-called Woodland Bridge, which will extend east from the existing northern terminus of the High Line. The new linear park, dubbed the High Line-Moynihan Train Hall Connector, is expected to open in late June.

Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill with landscape architects at James Field Corner Operations, the 260-foot bridge is made of 163 beams of Alaskan yellow cedar wood from British Columbia, according to W42ST. Work on the bridge began at the street level in April.

Paired with the timber bridge is the woodland bridge, a 340-foot-long path that runs along 30th Street. The bridge is made of concrete panels and supported by steel and features deep soil beds and a design that allows for rainwater to drip down to water plantings, creating a perfect space for lush greenery to grow.

Upon exiting Moynhian, visitors and commuters can cross 9th Avenue and enter Manhattan West’s public plaza on the south end of West 31st Street. From here, visitors will take the timber bridge along Dyer Avenue, turn 90 degrees onto the woodland bridge on 30th Street, and arrive at the Spur of the High Line.

The High Line Moynihan Connector is being constructed through a public-private partnership made up of Empire State Development, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Brookfield Properties Group, and Friends of the High Line.

The $50 million project will connect Chelsea with other West Side destinations like Hudson Yards, Penn Station, and the Javits Center.

Rendering © SOM, JCFO | Miysis

Gov. Kathy Hochul unveiled designs for the footbridge in September 2021. Plans for a footbridge were first proposed by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in January 2021 as part of his vision of redeveloping Midtown West.

The next phase of the High Line’s extension will connect it to Hell’s Kitchen by creating a pathway from West 34th Street and the Western Rail Yard up 12th Avenue and across the West Side Highway to end at Pier 76.

RELATED:

• See the elevated pedestrian pathway that will connect the High Line to Moynihan Train Hall
• See Cuomo’s proposal to extend the High Line to the new Moynihan Train Hall
• Cuomo reveals $51B plan to redevelop Midtown West, replace Port Authority

All photos © 6sqft