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Chelsea Lot to Become Bomb-Screening Site for WTC-Bound Trucks

By Mathew Katz | August 31, 2011 12:37pm
The World Trade Center site on Aug. 12, 2011. Trucks headed to the site will be screened for bombs at a lot in West Chelsea.
The World Trade Center site on Aug. 12, 2011. Trucks headed to the site will be screened for bombs at a lot in West Chelsea.
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Mario Tama/Getty Images

CHELSEA — As the city gears up for the 10th anniversary of 9/11 next week, a block in West Chelsea will be used to make sure another attack won't happen at the new World Trade Center site.

The Port Authority will use the block between West 29th and 30th Streets, from 11th to 12th avenues, to screen trucks going to the World Trade Center site for bombs, Community Board 4 confirmed. The site is located around the corner from the north end of the High Line Park.

Officials said the site is convenient to the West Side Highway and large enough to perform bomb-checking operations. Most trucks coming in will be inspected and sniffed by a canine unit before being routed back to the highway.

All trucks headed to the World Trade Center will be screened at the site, with most coming from the George Washington Bridge, the Port Authority said.

It's unclear what measures would be in place to keep the vehicles secure as they travel between the checkpoint and the World Trade Center.

The authority is leasing the land from Georgetown Properties. It was originally meant to be part of the now-defunct ARC Trans-Hudson Rail Tunnel Project.

The new inspection site will operate from approximately 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., and officials expect at most 50 trucks a day to pass through.

The site will be used through next year, and possibly longer.