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Henry Hudson Parkway Is Buried After Hillside Gives Way
By TIMOTHY WILLIAMS
Published: May 12, 2005
A sizable section of retaining wall collapsed onto the Henry Hudson Parkway in hilly northern Manhattan this afternoon, sending tons of dirt, rock and trees onto the roadway, snarling traffic for miles around and leading to the evacuation of nearby buildings.
The New York Times
"The good news is that no one has been injured, as far as we can tell," Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said this evening in a news conference in Washington Heights, near the site. "The rest of the wall at the moment appears stable."
The mayor said that a police officer happened to be on the scene when the wall collapsed and had reported that there was "no pedestrian or vehicle traffic at the time."
When the retaining wall gave way, debris - including entire trees and hundreds of huge stones - cascaded onto the roadway, which is lined on the east side with high-rise apartment buildings situated on terraces. Immediately after the collapse around 4 p.m., firefighters rushed to the site near 181st Street in Upper Manhattan and used thermal imaging equipment and search dogs to try to determine if anyone was trapped beneath the landslide, which covered both an access road and the north side of the parkway.
Television pictures from news helicopters hovering overhead showed a number of cars parked along the base of the stone-and-mortar wall on the access road, which just a few feet south becomes Riverside Drive, but there was no sign that any occupied vehicles had been buried. Residents said that as many as a dozen parked cars were under the mound of dirt and rubble. Television pictures also showed a playground next to the collapse, behind a portion of the wall that remained intact.
Repair work on the wall, built about 1908, will begin as early as next week, Mayor Bloomberg said.
Judging by the portions of the wall that remained standing, the section that collapsed appeared to be about 300 feet long and 50 feet high. Rubble was piled at least 25 feet high on the access road, with a lesser amount spilling out onto the Henry Hudson Parkway, which is also called Route 9A.
The southbound lanes of the divided highway, as well as railroad tracks farther west, along the Hudson River shoreline, were not directly affected, although the authorities closed the parkway in both directions to traffic in the area.
The northbound parkway is "going to be closed for awhile - we don't know what awhile is," Mr. Bloomberg said.
Castle Village Apartments, a 16-story building near the collapse, remained evacuated early this evening while officials determined whether it was structurally sound. The commissioner of the Department of Buildings, Patricia Lancaster, said a preliminary investigation indicated that the building was safe.
The residents of the other buildings in the area were allowed to return home this evening.
The section of the parkway where the wall collapsed was not heavy with traffic at the time because most commuters typically exit two or so blocks south to get to the George Washington Bridge, across the Hudson River, or to the entrance to the Cross Bronx Expressway.
Television pictures showed traffic tied up along much of the West Side of Manhattan. The Holland and Lincoln tunnels were initially backed up for more than an hour as New Jersey commuters sought alternate routes home. But by 8 p.m., many of the tie-ups appeared to be easing.
City officials said that the wall was last repaired in the 1980's, and that it might have been damaged by water from a private park above the wall.
Engineers "had been doing a number of things on this wall for 15 to 20 years," Mr. Bloomberg said.
Residents told WNBC-TV that it was well known in the neighborhood that the wall appeared to be unstable. WCBS-TV showed pictures it said were taken recently and showed part of the wall bulging.
West Side Hwy (9A)
i am bummed!!!
i was supposed to go to nyc with my sister to meet up with friends for the day tmw... but we are cancelling cuz it is gonna be a crazy day since two are two major hwys that go into nyc.. west side hwy (9A) and FDR... FDR is gonna be BACKED since 9A is closed... and the trains too all cuz of this shit... so forget it!!! 
By TIMOTHY WILLIAMS
Published: May 12, 2005
A sizable section of retaining wall collapsed onto the Henry Hudson Parkway in hilly northern Manhattan this afternoon, sending tons of dirt, rock and trees onto the roadway, snarling traffic for miles around and leading to the evacuation of nearby buildings.
The New York Times
"The good news is that no one has been injured, as far as we can tell," Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said this evening in a news conference in Washington Heights, near the site. "The rest of the wall at the moment appears stable."
The mayor said that a police officer happened to be on the scene when the wall collapsed and had reported that there was "no pedestrian or vehicle traffic at the time."
When the retaining wall gave way, debris - including entire trees and hundreds of huge stones - cascaded onto the roadway, which is lined on the east side with high-rise apartment buildings situated on terraces. Immediately after the collapse around 4 p.m., firefighters rushed to the site near 181st Street in Upper Manhattan and used thermal imaging equipment and search dogs to try to determine if anyone was trapped beneath the landslide, which covered both an access road and the north side of the parkway.
Television pictures from news helicopters hovering overhead showed a number of cars parked along the base of the stone-and-mortar wall on the access road, which just a few feet south becomes Riverside Drive, but there was no sign that any occupied vehicles had been buried. Residents said that as many as a dozen parked cars were under the mound of dirt and rubble. Television pictures also showed a playground next to the collapse, behind a portion of the wall that remained intact.
Repair work on the wall, built about 1908, will begin as early as next week, Mayor Bloomberg said.
Judging by the portions of the wall that remained standing, the section that collapsed appeared to be about 300 feet long and 50 feet high. Rubble was piled at least 25 feet high on the access road, with a lesser amount spilling out onto the Henry Hudson Parkway, which is also called Route 9A.
The southbound lanes of the divided highway, as well as railroad tracks farther west, along the Hudson River shoreline, were not directly affected, although the authorities closed the parkway in both directions to traffic in the area.
The northbound parkway is "going to be closed for awhile - we don't know what awhile is," Mr. Bloomberg said.
Castle Village Apartments, a 16-story building near the collapse, remained evacuated early this evening while officials determined whether it was structurally sound. The commissioner of the Department of Buildings, Patricia Lancaster, said a preliminary investigation indicated that the building was safe.
The residents of the other buildings in the area were allowed to return home this evening.
The section of the parkway where the wall collapsed was not heavy with traffic at the time because most commuters typically exit two or so blocks south to get to the George Washington Bridge, across the Hudson River, or to the entrance to the Cross Bronx Expressway.
Television pictures showed traffic tied up along much of the West Side of Manhattan. The Holland and Lincoln tunnels were initially backed up for more than an hour as New Jersey commuters sought alternate routes home. But by 8 p.m., many of the tie-ups appeared to be easing.
City officials said that the wall was last repaired in the 1980's, and that it might have been damaged by water from a private park above the wall.
Engineers "had been doing a number of things on this wall for 15 to 20 years," Mr. Bloomberg said.
Residents told WNBC-TV that it was well known in the neighborhood that the wall appeared to be unstable. WCBS-TV showed pictures it said were taken recently and showed part of the wall bulging.
West Side Hwy (9A)
i am bummed!!!
i was supposed to go to nyc with my sister to meet up with friends for the day tmw... but we are cancelling cuz it is gonna be a crazy day since two are two major hwys that go into nyc.. west side hwy (9A) and FDR... FDR is gonna be BACKED since 9A is closed... and the trains too all cuz of this shit... so forget it!!! 
