The grand opening of the Fulton Center transit hub to the public will take place Nov. 10, making it the first of the MTA megaprojects to be finished, transit officials announced Monday.
There will be a Sunday ceremony for the completion of the $1.4 billion renovation to the lower Manhattan complex the MTA is dubbing the “downtown Grand Central” and riders will be able to walk through the whole station starting 5 a.m. that Monday.
The project will turn Fulton Street station into an easy-to-navigate transit hub made of glass and steel for nine subway lines with connections to the Port Authority’s World Trade Center transportation hub that is undergoing renovations through 2015. The new Fulton Center has a layout MTA officials say will ease bottlenecks at the transfer spot between the No. 4 and 5 and A and C lines, offers new entrances to the hub and new mezzanines. There will also be 65,000 square feet of retail space. A dazzling Oculus will reflect natural light from above down into the station.
Fulton Center will connect to the Port Authority’s World Trade Center transportation hub, expected to open next year.
Construction for the renovation effort has been underway for a decade and its opening date had been delayed from June 26. MTA officials this summer said additional time was needed to test the communications system, fire alarms and elevators.
.
