Open space will run from Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District through West Chelsea to the Hudson Yards. In addition, the city and CSX signed a Trail Use Agreement, permitting the rail structure to be used by the public as a recreational amenity. The first section of the High Line is projected to open to the public in 2008.
Railbanking, a method of creating trails from out-of-use rail corridors, was established by a 1983 Congressional amendment to the National Trails Systems Act. There are more than 13,000 miles of rail-trails across the country. The city originally petitioned the federal Surface Transportation Board for authorization to create a railbanked trail on the High Line in December 2002. In June 2005, the STB authorized a Certificate of Interim Trail Use for the High Line. The CITU enabled the completion of negotiations. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2006. Total capital funding to date equals $61.75 million.
The work will be divided into two scopes of work site preparation, which includes removal of the rails and ballast, comprehensive waterproofing, and stripping and painting of all steel. The second scope involves the construction of the public landscape including access systems, pathways, plantings, seating, lighting, safety enhancements and other features.
The Friends of the High Line, which was established in 1999 to advocate for using the site as public open space. "Railbanking the High Line was our most important goal and now that huge advance has been accomplished," says FHL co-founder Robert Hammond. The site is an elevated steel railroad structure built in the 1930s, but not in use since 1980.
New construction closest to the High Line will be governed by special controls that restrict height and setbacks. Property owners of the land beneath the High Line will receive a transfer of floor area to air space to buildings to the west. Another thought is to allow development such as restaurants if a developer agrees to also construct a staircase or elevator for the High Line.
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