The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) remade the existing South Ferry Terminal Station, which was first built in 1905 and serves over 6 million people yearly. The station is the ending location for the No. 1 subway line and is located underneath Peter Minuit Plaza in Lower Manhattan, adjacent to Battery Park and the Staten Island Ferry Terminal.
The $530 million project set out to correct existing physical and operating deficiencies, which limit train capacity and reduce subway reliability for millions of customers each year.
The station improvements include a new straightened platform which eliminates the need for retractable floor grates, an elongated platform to provide access for all 10 train cars instead of the previous track accommodating only 5 cars, the creation of additional entrances/exits to the station that is compliant with the Americans with Disability Act (ADA), and the expansion of loop tunnels used for turning trains around and train storage.
Most notably, the new station is expected to reduce customer travel times and offers a new free transfer between the 1 line and the R and W lines at Whitehall Street.
During the construction process areas of Battery Park were disturbed, however, the MTA has continued to work with the Parks Department to preserve all the trees and shrubbery and replant them in their original location. The MTA is also committed to providing improvements the Parks Department has suggested for the area.
Construction on the project began in 2004. The new station opened on March 16, 2009 and the Dutch-themed New Amsterdam Pavilion opened in early September 2009.