EnTech has welcomed the recent opening of Grand Central Madison, a new rail terminal underneath the historic Grand Central Terminal. This expansive facility brings Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) commuter service to Manhattan’s East Side for the first time, greatly increasing train capacity to and from Manhattan and reducing commute lengths for more than 100,000 commuters daily. The start of full LIRR service to Grand Central Madison represented the substantial completion of the $11 billion East Side Access project, one of the largest public works projects in New York history.
EnTech served a key role on the virtual design and construction (VDC) team for this 350,000-sf facility, which houses eight LIRR tracks across four platforms, offering connections to Metro-North Railroad and New York City Transit (NYCT) subway service. The firm developed large-scale, highly detailed 3D building information models (BIM) for architectural and structural disciplines, based on thousands of sheets of 2D construction drawings. These models encompassed station concourses, platforms, retail storefronts, and extensive vertical transportation systems.
During construction, EnTech’s BIM engineers collaborated extensively with contractor and design teams to develop a consistent model, and the team used innovative software to efficiently automate repeated details such as ceiling tiles, saving costs and producing a more complete model. EnTech’s VDC structural specialists also developed the design of structural ceiling support systems.
The models developed by EnTech served numerous important purposes during construction. The team detected clashes and inconsistencies between disciplines and facilitated resolutions to these potential issues before construction. Engineers and contractor personnel relied on the models to generate quantity take-offs and to conduct special coordination for mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection (MEP/FP) systems. The models were further used for structural steel design analysis, for the development of visualizations and renderings, and as the basis for as-built drawings.
Congratulations to the thousands of engineering and construction professionals who have contributed to this project over the course of a decade to make it a reality. EnTech is proud to have played a role in this landmark expansion of New York’s transit infrastructure.
