The High Line—Moynihan Connector—is composed of two pedestrian bridges running over New York City’s Dyer Avenue and West 30th Street, comprising an elevated, 183-m (600-ft) linear plaza which offers a seamless pedestrian journey from Midtown West to the raised public path, the High Line.
A joint effort by Empire State Development, Brookfield Properties, and Friends of the High Line, the project embodies a longstanding vision to enhance pedestrian access, improve transit connectivity, and seamlessly link public open spaces and community assets in the neighborhood. This project marks the latest chapter in the decade-long transformation of Midtown West in New York City’s Manhattan borough, which includes the redevelopment of Pennsylvania Station (Penn Station), the adaptive reuse of the Farley Building into Moynihan Train Hall featuring offices above, the 650,321-m2 (7-million-sf) mixed-use Manhattan West building, and Hudson Yards.
Together, these developments have turned the neighborhood into a thriving mixed-use destination, interconnected by a series of civic spaces that will now be linked to the renowned High Line, one of New York City’s most significant public spaces and pedestrian pathways.
The innovative design of the connector has been crafted by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) and James Corner Field Operations (Field Operations). Upon exiting Moynihan Train Hall, visitors and commuters cross Ninth Avenue and enter Manhattan West, which features a 1.0-ha (2.6-acre) public plaza that leads to the Timber Bridge. This dramatic truss structure stretches along the length of Dyer Avenue and provides a welcoming space protected from traffic and emerging from the Lincoln Tunnel.
The Timber Bridge, a 79.2-m (260-ft)-long glulam Warren truss made from sustainable wood (Alaskan yellow cedar), requires minimal ground connections—it is supported by two Corten steel Y-columns—preserving existing roads and utilizing renewable materials.
The Timber bridge connects to the subsequent path, the Woodland Bridge, which extends diagonally along 30th Street, lined with trees that create an immersive High Line landscape. The structure supports large trees, characteristic of an eastern deciduous forest, fostering a lush environment for birds and native pollinators, offering shade, and shielding pedestrians from the traffic below.
Architecturally exposed weathered steel columns and angled bracket arms support this bridge, varying dynamically to reflect the different soil depths along the diagonal pathway. The two bridges boast distinct architectural and structural expressions, catering to the site and context, while uniting through a warm material palette of Corten steel decking and bronze handrails, which guide pedestrians between the structures.
The plantings on the Woodland Bridge transitions from high to low, providing visitors with a diverse experience as they move from east to west and vice versa. This dynamic landscape allows pedestrians to admire the timber structure rising over the diagonal pathway, visually linking to the trees from Magnolia Court in Manhattan West Plaza, creating a unique sense of place and guiding pedestrians to their destinations on both sides of the Moynihan Train Hall Connector.
Other project collaborators are as follows:
Tillotson Design Associates, lighting; structural engineer, Thornton Tomasetti; Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP), and civil engineer, WSP; Traffic/mobility engineer, Buro Happold; and design-build contractor, Turner Construction.
