I know that there are only eight wonders of the world if you follow international travel guides.

But I have found one location in the middle of Manhattan that qualifies as one of New York’s most spectacular locations that is worth a visit, once it opens towards the end of this year. It is the new Grand Central facility that will connect thousands of Long Island commuters to the east side of the city.

It is hard to believe that after countless years of delays, cost overruns and other headaches, the facility will finally be open and operating. T

he Grand Central connecting facility was envisioned as far back at 1986. At that time, I was still in the state Assembly and a member of the MTA Capital Construction Authority. Its initial cost was estimated to be approximately $2.1 billion. Its final cost is $11.2 billion. It used a combination of federal and state funds.

Before you bang your head against the ceiling over the cost, I suggest you plan to visit the site after the ribbon cutting takes place.

I had a chance to tour the facility as a guest of the MTA and pronounced it as “spectacular.” The place is so enormous that it took two hours to visit all of its parts and understand what an engineering challenge it was.

Any effort to build an underground facility in mid-Manhattan requires blasting and relocating conduits that have been in existence for many years.

When you dig for a new underground facility that will go deep into the city earth, you have numerous logistical challenges.

Thousands of tons of materials had to be removed as the construction workers dug deeply into the terrain. Bringing in new materials was also a challenge and you need contractors who know what they are doing.

The completed section under the new Chase Bank headquarters had to be ripped out at Chase’s expense, to make sure there would be other exits available.

One of the incredible features of the Madison/Grand Central facility is that you can walk from 48th Street to 42nd Street without using the streets above ground.

This long concourse will feature the latest in transportation features, numerous refreshment locations and a series of escalators that defy your imagination.

A typical escalator runs 146 feet down to the tracks, which is very impressive. The trip down is estimated to take about two minutes. If you have ever visited the Moscow subway or the one in Paris, you will get an idea how colossal these new escalator systems are.

The track signage is very impressive and if you love art visit the site.

Numerous artists have contributed their talents to portions of the tunnel and it’s not graffiti. I have nothing against graffiti but this connector will feature some of the best in the world. It could be a long walk to your train, but there will be plenty of distractions along the way.

I almost forgot to explain how significant this project is. It is expected that approximately 166,000 commuters will take the Grand Central route each day.

The commute for many will be reduced by at least 30 minutes each way, which makes it an incredible time saver. Avoiding a cross-town trip from 7th Avenue to the East Side, is a big bonus for all commuters.

LIRR commuters have complained since as far back as I can remember that they are the stepchild of mass transit. The new rail cars are no longer new and are waiting for replacement, but big things have finally happened.

The newly completed 3rd Track project will help speed up train service and bring more job hunters to the island. And our new wonder of the world will add value to the region’s homes and make living on Long Island that much more attractive.

A big thank you to the MTA.