Projects Include Addition of Elevators at Astoria Blvd Station

MTA New York City Transit announced that extensive structural, safety and functional repairs, renovations and improvements will be done at the Broadway and 39 Av stations in Astoria, with the work scheduled to begin on Monday, July 2. Workers will repair and replace deteriorating station infrastructure such as steel beams and columns, staircases, platforms, open-air canopies and concrete, among other improvements, to ensure the safety, comfort and convenience of customers as well as the reliability of the Astoria Line.

“These outdoor stations have deteriorated after more than a century of snowstorms, rain, sun, wind and daily foot traffic,” said NYC Transit President Andy Byford. “We thank our customers for their patience while we make these repairs and improvements; once these projects are done, major defects will be fixed and these stations will be in a renewed state for the local community to use for decades to come.”

Work at Broadway and 39 Av includes replacing deteriorated structural steel beams and columns, platform surfaces, and other support structure in the mezzanines. Platform canopies, including roof trusses, beams, columns and transverse beams, will be replaced, and new canopy roofs will be installed. Track and platform girders will be repaired, and new concrete slabs will be installed above mezzanines. The stations will also get upgraded power service, new floors and ceilings, brighter and more energy efficient LED lighting and fixtures, digital signage, renovated turnstile areas and countdown clocks, and enhanced station entrances. A new street entrance for the Broadway station will be added for better pedestrian access.

The stations will close in both directions after similar repairs and renovations are completed at the 30 Av and 36 Av stations, which are scheduled to reopen on time on June 22. All four of these open-air, elevated stations had not undergone repairs like this since they first opened for service in 1917.

Signage will be posted and announcements will be made alerting customers so that they may plan their trips accordingly. During the station closures, subway riders can use the adjacent, open Queensboro Plaza, 36 Av, and 30 Av stations; to accommodate customers with additional options, service has been increased on the Q102 bus route, which runs between the stations along the same path as the subway line on 31st Street. service is also available at nearby subway stations.

NYC Transit staff have conducted extensive community outreach ahead of the July closures, visiting more than 100 local businesses over the course of the last several months. Large-scale signage has been posted at the stations since June 1, and Transit officials are working with local businesses to develop a marketing campaign to help drive customers to patronize them.

MTA NYC Transit is in the process of repairing or upgrading all stations on the Astoria Line. Improvements and repairs at the Ditmars Blvd station began in April, with the station remaining open to service throughout the project, which is scheduled for completion by June 2019. At the Astoria Blvd station, the entire station mezzanine will be demolished and rebuilt to accommodate the installation of four new elevators and other accessible features. A redesigned mezzanine will provide additional vertical clearance from the street below, to avoid strikes by trucks driving underneath the elevated structure.