High Line – Moynihan Connector
High Line – Moynihan Connector
High Line – Moynihan Connector
High Line – Moynihan Connector
High Line – Moynihan Connector
High Line – Moynihan Connector
High Line – Moynihan Connector
High Line – Moynihan Connector
High Line – Moynihan Connector
High Line – Moynihan Connector
One of New York City’s most beloved public amenities, the High Line, was until recently missing a vital connection: To reach it from Moynihan Train Hall, the city’s busiest rail hub, commuters had to brave a series of high-traffic roads, including the Lincoln Tunnel entrance. Now, they can easily access the pedestrian amenity, thanks to the Moynihan Connector — a pair of footbridges designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) and Field Operations. Tacked onto the High Line Spur, the Moynihan Connector integrates 183 metres of infrastructure and green space into the urban fabric.
The first of the two bridges, dubbed the Timber Bridge, runs the length of Dyer Avenue. As one of Manhattan’s first mass timber structures, it presented a challenge in navigating the city’s building codes and lack of industry standards. But the effort was worth the payoff: The same structure built in steel would have double the carbon footprint. The glulam Warren truss design, comprising 163 Alaskan yellow cedar beams, nods to Chelsea’s industrial roots and former steel rail bridges, and was engineered to require minimal steel supports, reducing disruption to the busy roads below.
The Woodland Bridge, meanwhile, runs along West 30th Street, linking directly to the High Line Spur. Its V-shaped profile, framed by angled bracket arms that connect to weathering steel columns, offers soil beds of varied depths to support a diverse ecosystem of trees, shrubs, grasses and perennials, all composed as a layered, forest-like landscape that evolves with the changing seasons. The walkway’s suspension over the planter soil results in thermal protection and promotes healthy root growth, while perforations in the deck allow rainwater in to minimize irrigation demands.
Though the two bridges take on their own architectural expressions, they are unified by their steel decking and bronze handrails — and the plantings that work alongside the structures to foster a pleasant pedestrian experience. Equal parts nature and infrastructure, the Moynihan Connector helps usher in a safer, more accessible and more beautiful public realm.
Team: Julia Murphy (SOM); Isabel Castilla (Field Operations); Eli Gottlieb (Thornton Tomasetti); Caitlin Sullivan (Turner Construction); Megan Trimarchi (Tillotson Design Associates); Stephen DeLucia (WSP); Alice Shay (Buro Happold); Martha Huguet (Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers); Pablo Vives (William Vitacco Associates); Laura Montross (Brookfield Properties); Empire State Development; and Friends of the High Line
Equal parts nature and infrastructure, the Moynihan Connector helps usher in a safer, more accessible and more beautiful public realm.
