Neither Westway nor the Big Dig: It's Highway-'na-Box

Friday, June 23, 2006, by Jeremy

The Times unpacks the somewhat confusing pile-driving that's going on in the backyard of Avery, Rushmore and friends. The short version: They're building a highway in a box (or a box for a highway) so that the West Side Highway can eventually be rerouted into this box from 59th Street to 72nd Street. The speedy development of the ex-Trump land into more apartment buildings is pressing the issue, because the road and the towers have to be built kinda sorta in concert with each other. The good news? Riverside Park South will eventually be expanded and spiffed up—we think—based on the added tiny green trees in the paper's handy dandy graphic here and above. And when have those little green trees ever lied?
· The Surprise in This Box? A Highway, Some Assembly Required [NYT]
· Avery Getting a New Riverside Friend: Rushmore [Curbed]

RELATED: While we're in the neighborhood, why not check out StreetEasy's summary page for the Avery at 100 Riverside? Fun fact: Average price per square foot out of 14 closed sales in the building was $1,267.

Filed under Digital Real Estate, Manhattan: Upper West Side/Columbus Circle, Real Estate Development, Real Estate For Sale, Urban Planning,

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Comments (6 extant)

Trump offered to do this exact same thing when he was first putting those buildings up.

Congressman Jerry Nadler killed the plan based on a petty personal vendetta against Trump.

By Sean at June 23, 2006 11:50 AM

The relatively new viaduct (for the elevated west side highway) is the worst example of blight for the riverside south park users. Burying the highway will benefit all users: pedestrians, bicycle riders, joggers etc. However, those most helped will be the owners of the western facing, low floor apartments at riverside south or trump place, whatever it's called now, since many of these units face or look up to the viaduct.

By UWSider at June 23, 2006 12:09 PM

Anyone with more knowledge than I have of Olive Freud's concerns care to suggest what her objections to this may be?

I still don't understand why there was so much resistence to Westway.

By VDH at June 23, 2006 1:17 PM

So can anyone tell me why Olive Freud would be against this?

I never understood why Westway was objected to so much. Intead of having a 6 lane highway at grade that pedestrians have to cross while cars invariably speed through red lights (happens all the time where I live) we could have had the same highway out of the way underground.

After a little bit of research it seems that striped bass were in danger and there was this general feeling that automobiles were bad. We still have speeding cars on that fricking highway so what was achieved exept saving some striped bass?

By VDH at June 23, 2006 1:29 PM

VDH - as I read the article, It seems that Olive Freud's argument is that there should be no West Side Highway at all - either at grade, elveated, or underground. Which, of course, is idiotic. Obviously there needs to be a highway there, and just as obviously, it would be better for everyone if that highway were below ground.

By davey at June 23, 2006 4:49 PM

Olive Freud sounds like an anti-environmentalist who has this childish idea that he/she should be able to just push it all away.

So was the case with the idiotic anti Westway movement which promoted the idea of transferring highway moneys to rail transit as a distraction from the bloated military/law enforcement/prison industry.

Since the striped bass are primarily along the shore line, revive Westway as a barrier island, hence creating more habitat for the striped bass.

By Douglas Willinger at January 28, 2007 2:35 PM