The Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced it will close the Astoria Boulevard Station on the N and W lines for nine months starting in March as they install four elevators days after a 22-year-old mother died while carrying a stroller down multiple flights of stairs at a Manhattan stop.
With two of the elevators going from the street to mezzanine and two more going up to the platforms, the MTA will take the opportunity to replace other features of the century-old structure.
“I’ve made accessibility one of my top priorities since the moment I arrived at New York City Transit and am thrilled that we’re bringing elevators to this critical intermodal hub that connects to LaGuardia Airport,” NYC Transit President Andy Byford said when it was announced in April. “We are continuing to spend billions of dollars on accessibility throughout the entire subway system. The systemwide study that’s underway now, combined with future funding in the MTA capital plan, will provide the path forward to even more accessibility improvements.”
Structural columns and foundations will be replaced and damaged concrete platforms will also be replaced.
New stairwells will also be installed as well as platform roofs and mezzanine walkways. Platform gaps, boarding areas, stairs, railings will meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards and lighting will also be replaced.
The work is part of the crawl up the N/W line, modernizing as they go; in October 2017 they closed the 30th and 36th Street stops for similar improvements. Those stations have now reopened.
The Broadway and 39th Avenue stations closed starting in July and have also been put back into service.
The MTA has invested $5 billion in making stations more accessible, the agency said, and $427 million has been dedicated replacing 42 elevators and 32 escalators.
