World Trade Center Transit Hub Opens

Commuters are finally getting their first glimpse of the new World Trade Center Transportation Hub.

The hub's central hall — referred to as the Oculus — will open Thursday afternoon and connect to the PATH trains below. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey says riders will be able to access a new entrance at Liberty and Church streets. The existing entrances on Vesey street will remain open. 

This spring, the Port Authority says the remaining parts of the hub will open with a connection to the Fulton Street transit center which serves the 2, 3, 4, 5, A, C, J, Z and R subway lines.

The hub, designed by famed Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava to resemble a bird in flight, has had its share of delays and cost overruns. The price of construction ballooned to $4 billion from an original estimate of $2 billion. Outgoing Executive Director Pat Foye called the cost overruns "regrettable" and declined to stage a ribbon cutting at this point because he said one would be "inappropriate." Port Authority officials do say however they will hold an official ceremony once the hub is fully operational.

The New York Times architecture critic Michael Kimmelman didn't pull any punches in his review of the facility, calling it "an epic boondoggle" and "a glorified PATH station" with no free transfers to the subway lines, which are still a long walk away.