Cortlandt Street subway in NYC reopens after 17 years

The Cortlandt Street subway in NYC has reopened after 17 years. The subway station was destroyed from the falling debris of the Twin Towers that fell on 9/11. The station hasn’t been in operation since.

After almost two decades, the No. 1 line was reopened yesterday at noon with city officials and the public cheering and celebrating its return.

“The successful construction of the WTC Cortlandt station in the city’s most challenging building site represents our ability to deliver on our promises to modernize and rejuvenate the subway system,” NYC Transit President Andy Byford said in a statement.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority began rebuilding and repairing the Cortlandt Street subway back in 2015 after it sat idle for 14 years.

“It’s long overdue,” said Mitchell L. Moss, the director of the Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management at New York University. “It was a major challenge to rebuild the subway at the same time you’re rebuilding the site above it.”

The newly rebuilt NYC subway station cost $181.8 million and has now been officially renamed WTC Cortlandt.

The new subway station is hardly recognizable with a large, inspiring piece of artwork; a white marble mosaic titled ‘Chorus’ featuring text from the Declaration of Independence and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Aside from the beautiful artwork, WTC Cortlandt also features state-of-the-art technology with a newly installed air ventilation system that keeps the platform cool. New kiosks for commuters have been installed along with new turnstiles, elevators and escalators.

“WTC Cortlandt is more than a new subway station. It is symbolic of New Yorkers’ resolve in restoring and substantially improving the entire World Trade Center site,” Metropolitan Transportation Authority chairman Joe Lhota said in a statement.