The key to it all will be the platforms. Jim White, the engineer in charge of the platform construction, says 3D modeling helped identify places in the rail yard where caissons could be drilled all the way into the bedrock without disrupting the tracks. These 300 caissons, each installed with 90-ton cores encased in concrete, will serve as a foundation for load-bearing support columns. At the "throat" of the yard, where the 30 tracks converge into four to enter Penn Station, long-span bridge trusses will shoulder the weight.
The construction of New New York starts with the Highline and Hudson Yard.