Financial District Coastal Improvement Program

The Financial District Coastal Improvement Program (“FDCIP”) is a waterfront improvement initiative proposed for New York City that is facilitated by moving the southernmost section of the elevated FDR freeway underground. The tunnel will serve multiple purposes including eliminating surface level traffic and pollution, and acting as a multi-faceted flood mitigation structure. These improvements have the potential to create a vibrant, accessible, open waterfront and increased real estate value from Battery Park to Corlears Hook. The tunnel operates in three modes- typical day-to-day, heavy rains, and storm surges. Daily functions allow traffic to flow two ways with space for overflow. During heavy rains, the tunnel will dually function as an overflow retention tank and a vehicular right of way. During a storm surge, traffic in the tunnel will be closed and it will act as a retention tank for seawater. FDCIP also proposes an automated, movable sea wall to be located south of the Brooklyn Bridge. As sea levels rise, water from the river will fill a reaction chamber that will signal a hydraulic piston system to raise the promenade platform at the river’s edge into a vertical wall, blocking storm surge waves from reaching the adjacent areas and driving the water into the vehicular tunnel. In the northern portion of the site, both the tunnel and a coastal extension will be used for water mitigation and will provide necessary open space for residents of the rapidly growing Two Bridges and the Lower East Side neighbourhoods.