Queens Bound Service Returns To N Line
Residents at a number of Queens-bound 
stations will rejoice as of this coming Monday when they reopen for service after a lengthy closure due to a multi-million renovation project. Here is more via the official press release I received:
The Manhattan-bound platforms at Fort Hamilton Pkwy, New Utrecht Av, 18 Av, 20 Av, Kings Hwy, Avenue U and 86 St will reopen for service at 5 a.m. on May 22. The Manhattan-bound platforms at the 8 Av and Bay Pkwy stations, which had temporary platforms installed during the work, will also reopen.
The nine stations, which serve a total of nearly 53,000 weekday customers, will have new accessibility-compliant platforms, brighter lighting, new stairs and new paint. Some platforms will feature new canopies with architectural finishes, new windscreens or new glass fiber-reinforced concrete wall panels. When the entire $395.7 million renovation is complete, every station will feature new artwork and two stations will be fully ADA accessible.
“These stations and right-of-way opened in the 1910s and have been in heavy daily use for more than a century. It’s a vital Brooklyn corridor that needs to be brought into a state of good repair with new amenities and technology such as an upgraded communications system. When the work is finished at all nine stations and the tracks that connect them, our customers will see brighter, cleaner and safer stations and experience a smoother, more reliable ride, while our mobility impaired customers will be able to access that part of the Sea Beach line by using new ramps and new elevators,” said Ronnie Hakim, MTA Interim Executive Director.
The station renovations include improved platforms and overpasses, new stairways and handrails, repairs to canopies and columns, new paint, the rehabilitation of the stations’ historic head house entrances and fare control areas, enhanced safety features, new artwork commissioned by MTA Arts & Design and upgraded communications systems. At 8 Av, two ramps will be added for full accessibility compliance, and four elevators will be installed at New Utrecht Av for access from the street level to the platforms.
Work was scheduled on Manhattan-bound platforms and tracks to minimize disruptions for customers who could use Coney Island-bound platforms for service to those stations. With the renovation’s first phase completed, work will begin on the Coney Island-bound platforms and track infrastructure in July 2017. A specific date will be announced later, with detailed travel alternatives that will be similar to the Manhattan-bound service changes. These service changes will include temporary platforms at the 8 Av and Bay Pkwy stations that were also used during the Manhattan-bound service changes. Customers may also take the or lines to Coney Island.
The renovation project was funded through the 2010-2014 MTA Capital Program. Although this project predates Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s mandate to use design-build methods to decrease construction timelines and improve efficiency in all MTA capital projects going forward, MTA New York City Transit worked closely with the project’s two contractors to deliver the work quickly and will continue to do so for the remainder of the project. John P. Picone Inc. is rehabilitating the six stations between 8 Av and Bay Pkwy, and Skanska USA is responsible for the rehabilitation of Kings Hwy, Avenue U and 86 St. The entire 9-station project is expected to take approximately four years, with full completion expected in late 2018.
I will try to get out to the stations in the coming weeks to see how the work came out.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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