Pel Bay train stations scheduled for rehabs

Pel Bay train stations scheduled for rehabs

The MTA has announced that work will begin to rehabilitate all three of the #6 line stations in Pelham Bay.

The move is expected to be a boon to the older infrastructure and allow the stations to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act.

The project will begin sometime in the spring or early summer of 2009 at the Buhre Avenue station, and proceed to the Middletown Road station and Pelham Bay Station.

The stations will close while the work is taking place, but there will be extra buses stopping near the stations to pick up the slack.

The total shutdown of each station will be six months, with work on the Middletown Road station to begin in the second quarter of 2010, and the project totally completed by 2011. The construction contract will be awarded in Fall 2008. 

Councilman Jimmy Vacca enthusiastically endorsed the reconstruction plan.

“This is something that I have championed for several years, and it’s really long overdue,” Vacca stated. “When the stations reconstructions are completed, they will be another incentive for people to use mass transit from this neighborhood.”

The Pelham Bay stops on the #6 trains will be the first of many in the Bronx to be completely rehabilitated. These stations on the #6 will come to include the Zerega, Castle Hill, Parkchester, St. Lawrence, Morrison-Soundview, Elder, and Whitlock avenues stops along the line.

The rehabilitation of the stations will bring them into full compliance with city and state building and energy codes, which greatly pleased Community Board 10 district manager Ken Kearns.

 “This is a great idea because the stations are old and in need of repair and painting,” Kearns said. “We welcome the rehabilitation of these stations, and think it will improve the commute for riders of the line.”

The work will eliminate structural deficiencies, and replace station mezzanines, canopy roofs, and platform widescreens.

All stations will have new lighting, ventilation systems, public address systems, and signs throughout the line.

The stops along the route will also receive permanent artwork, courtesy of MTA Arts for Transit.

To comply for with the Progressive Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a host of changes will be made. These include a tactile warning strip at platform edges, and uniform dimensions of stair’s risers and treads with proper height and size of stair handrails for easier accessibility. 

A NYC Transit spokesman did not comment on these projects as of press time.