Four subway stations in Manhattan are closing starting in April for repairs and upgrades, and due to re-open this fall.
The repairs are part of the MTA’s Enhanced Station Initiative and will impact residents, businesses and visitors alike.
Repairs include waterproofing, repairs to floors and walls, and installing countdown clocks, illuminated handrails, LED lighting, Wi-Fi, Help Points, and upgraded entrances, such as the MTA rendering of the new 110th St. station, shown here.
All the affected stations are the B and C lines on the Upper West Side and Washington Heights..
Closing are 72nd St., 86th St. and 110th St. stations on the B and C lines, and the 163rd St. station on the C line.
Station closure schedule
Closing Mar. 12 – The first station to shutter will be 163rd St., scheduled to close on March 12, and expected to reopen sometime in September.
Closing Apr. 9 – The 110th Street station will close on April 9, and reopen sometime in September as well.
Closing May 7 – The 72nd Street station will close on May 7, expected to reopen sometime in October
Closing June 4 – The 86th Street station on June 4, and both will reopen sometime in October.
Increased bus service
The MTA is increasing service on the M10 bus, which runs along Central Park West, following the B/C route.
Additional station closures on weekends
In addition to the complete closures of the stations, all B-C stations between 59th and 125th Streets will be closed on 18 weekends (9 weekends for the uptown stations and 9 for the downtown) and 40 weeknights (20 for the uptown and 20 for the downtown).
Riders who need stations between 59th and 125th can take trains going in the opposite direction. For example, if you need to go to 81st, and the uptown stations are closed, you would take the Uptown to 125th and then transfer to the Downtown to get to 81st.
According to the West Side Rag, daily ridership at the three UWS stations exceeded 30,000 as of the most recent statistics, and there is no plan for how those passengers will be accommodated, or the effect on stations closest to the ones being shuttered, such as 103rd St. and the 81st St./American Museum of Natural History stop, which is popular with tourists and school groups.
As of 2016, the 110th Street station served 12,926 people per day, the 86th Street station served 11,809 passengers, and the 72nd Street station served 9,448 passengers, MTA stats show.
The West Side Rag also reports there is no MTA informaton about increasing service on the nearby 1,2,3 lines to absorb some of the passengers affected by the shuttered stations.
All the projects combined are being carried out at a cost of just over $111 million.
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