High Line Moynihan Connector’s Wooden Truss Bridge Readies for Installation in Midtown West, Manhattan

High Line Moynihan Connector. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and James Corner Field Operations

Construction is coming together on the High Line Moynihan Connector, a nearly 1,200-foot-long extension of the High Line linking the elevated park with the five-building Manhattan West complex in Midtown West. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and James Corner Field Operations and developed in a public-private partnership between Empire State Development (ESD), Friends of the High Line, and Brookfield Properties, the $50 million project consists of two 600-foot-long ADA-accessible bridges and will allow for easier access to Moynihan Train Hall and Penn Station. Turner Construction Company is the general contractor for the walkway, which runs along West 30th Street between Ninth and Tenth Avenues and turns to the north at Dyer Avenue to connect to the elevated southwestern corner of the Manhattan West plaza above West 31st Street.

Recent photos show the Timber Bridge being assembled alongside the steel bridge on West 30th Street, which has been largely completed since our last update in June and populated with an abundance of greenery. Once fully assembled, the truss bridge will be hoisted and rotated 90 degrees to join with Manhattan West’s Magnolia Court plaza.

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Close-up shots show the details in the Timber Bridge, which features an open-air truss system made of sustainably sourced wood and lined with steel decking and bronze handrails.

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

The below photo shows a gap in the plaza railing where the bridge will connect.

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

High Line Moynihan Connector. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and James Corner Field Operations

High Line Moynihan Connector. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and James Corner Field Operations

High Line Moynihan Connector. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and James Corner Field Operations

High Line Moynihan Connector. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and James Corner Field Operations

The following map shows the High Line Moynihan Connector in orange dashes. The bridges will greatly aid in the flow of pedestrians around Hudson Yards, Manhattan West, and the Penn District, a corridor that is rapidly evolving with new construction and adaptive reuse of old buildings.

High Line Moynihan Connector. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and James Corner Field Operations

The High Line Moynihan Connector is anticipated to be completed later this spring.

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26 Comments on "High Line Moynihan Connector’s Wooden Truss Bridge Readies for Installation in Midtown West, Manhattan"

  1. Looks pretty nice!

  2. Beautiful. Like the open air look, but it would be more practical to have a glass roof for those rainy and snowy NYC days.

    • Wut…It’s taking you from outdoor location to another. If its raining you’re already wet and why tf are you on the high line at all. Silly meaningless critique

      • It’s true, there’s no other way to get to that bridge without stepping outdoors without a roof over your head.

  3. Hopefully, This will be a great idea. Love the design.

  4. Norm Zinker | May 2, 2023 at 9:16 am | Reply

    Love the wood…

  5. Not a fan, sorry tourist bridge

  6. I don’t get it – why the wooden truss? The rest of the Highline does not have the trusses. It just does not tie in to the overall Highline aesthetic. Makes no sense. Not to mention how much of the $50-Million price tag for the project could be shaved off by eliminating the unnecessary truss component?

    • FYI, the overall aesthetics of anything being built along, or in this case to the High Line, is architectural eccentricity and spontaneity. Maybe that’s the point, because nothing is designed to match or relate between two or more separate projects, which allows these Starchitects to treat the High Line like they’re building tacky-looking hotels on the Las Vegas strip. The wooden bridge is just another project that will join the visual mess of residential buildings we see today. In that case, I don’t see what you mean by the bridge not “tying into the aesthetic of the High Line.”

      • Simple. The entire Highline is built on top of the old elevated railway. There are no trussed bridges. The new bridge didn’t need the cumbersome truss – it just needed to be elevated and connect to the Highline.

  7. David of Flushing | May 2, 2023 at 12:48 pm | Reply

    I love the no smoking signs. There is the realization of an obvious danger. People will be carving their names into it in no time.

    • I assume they’ll have staff nearby at all hours to deter vandalism. The high line is only open 7am to 10pm and they often close it in bad weather. Thankfully they’re keeping people from chaining their locks on it.

  8. David in Bushwick | May 2, 2023 at 1:21 pm | Reply

    Above the dreck, a skyway for the bridge & tunnel crowd is what they deserve.

    • That’s just mean. David – many people who live in the suburbs are worldly and sophisticated, and come to the city for culture, fine dining, and all the other things about which you obviously feel so proprietary. Many of us actually lived in the city for years. Please do us all a favor and remove yourself from your high horse. It is very unbecoming!

      • Not to speak for David, but is _is_ a good thing to remove pedestrians from street traffic—that’s how people get run over! Less interaction between cars and pedestrians is a good thing!

        • Scott Preston | May 3, 2023 at 8:10 am | Reply

          I agree BoroDoug, and especially this particular section of that lacks safe sidewalks and clear lines of sight from cars that make sudden turns and appearances from those curved streets going around the old factory building.

          • Am I mistaken, or do you need to take a bridge/tunnel from Bushwick to Manhattan?

  9. Spring will be over in 50 days. They better move quickly!

  10. Love the wooden bridge! Good use of material other than steel and looks eye catching from afar 👍

  11. This is cool, but imo we don’t need to add any more connections to the highline. Its a park first of all and is already overcrowded and backed up walking traffic wise. Any more traffic on there and they’re going to have to remove some of the greenery for more foot space.

  12. OneNYersOpinion | May 2, 2023 at 4:59 pm | Reply

    Neither of the two sections being connected are part of the HighLine rail line. Both sections are completely new construction, with only one connecting to the HighLine (Spur). As such, the wooden truss bridge, which connects new to new, seems completely appropriate. And it looks great!

  13. David : Sent From Heaven. | May 3, 2023 at 3:47 am | Reply

    That’s arranged in parallel series to support its floor, the need of connector so beautiful on pedestrian walkway. See a length of timber which is close-up looked neatly colored, truss bridge was required piece of progress for famous areas: Thanks to Michael Young.

  14. Another bridge connecting the high line to the west side bike path over the highway would be nice and safer also.

  15. They could have saved a ton of money by just making an open bridge without the truss. The truss looks like a construction crane.

    • Everyone critiquing the truss but it does allow more space beneath the bridge and helps with the span…

  16. Moshe Feder | May 4, 2023 at 6:09 am | Reply

    I think the use of wood is refreshing. As for the truss, I think it enabled them to minimize the number of columns underneath.

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