By Gus Saltonstall
A pair of busy Upper West Side subway stations are getting major ADA accessibility upgrades, including first-time elevators.
The 81st Street-Museum of Natural History B and C station, along with the 96th Street A, B and C station, will both undergo major accessibility construction projects expected to start in June and currently slated to wrap up in 2026.
Both projects will include temporarily closed station entrances, construction hours, and rerouted traffic elements in the surrounding areas.
Representatives from the MTA went in front of Upper West Side Community Board 7 on Tuesday night to discuss the already green-lighted plan that is part of a $577 million project to improve accessibility at 13 stations across the five boroughs.
Here are the available details for both projects.
West 81st Street-Museum of Natural History Station
The project will install a new three-stop elevator within the station entrance at the southwest corner of West 81st Street and Central Park West that provides access between the street, upper platform, and lower platform.
During construction, the MTA will also rebuild the staircase within that station entrance to make it ADA-compliant, as well as raise the boarding area on the platform, modify existing utilities within the station, and replace the track on the lower platform.
The MTA is currently coordinating with the New York City Department of Transportation and other agencies about the project, and the installation of traffic barriers related to the construction is expected to begin on or after June 3.
From there, the demolition, excavation, and utility work is expected to run from June 3, 2024 to the same date in 2025, and the overall project is slated to be substantially completed by some time in 2026.
The construction will be broken down into Phases 1 and 2, with the first of the two expected to only last for a couple of months. The first phase will see changes to the normal traffic flow in the area, though.
“Traffic will be slightly affected, as staging for the construction will happen in the parking lane on the north side of Central Park West, and the Central Park westbound direction will be reduced to one lane,” a representative from the MTA said.
Traffic will return to its normal flow in Phase 2, as shown below.
The MTA emphasized that pedestrian sidewalks and passageways will be maintained throughout the project.
Other street elements that will be affected during the work at the 81st Street station, along with the elimination of the parking lane on north side of Central Park West during Phase 1, is the relocation of the M79/BxM2 bus stop on the south side of 81st Street for the duration of Phase 2. The MTA did not specify exactly where this bus stop would be relocated, though.
Here are diagrams of what to expect the 81st Street area to look like during both phases of construction. You’ll want to download each image from the article and zoom in to get a proper look at the details.
While the train entrance on the southwest corner of West 81st Street will be closed for an extended period, the MTA reiterated that the other two entrances to the station, on the northwest corner of West 81st Street, along with the entrance within the American Museum of Natural History’s campus, will remain open.
The MTA will also hang fliers in the surrounding area to direct commuters to the proper entrances and deploy their station agents in a more nomadic role to remind people.
In terms of the construction hours, the majority of the work will take place between 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., and whenever there is night work the community will be notified beforehand. For a two to three month period, though, construction will go to a double shift at the 81st street station, meaning that the work won’t end until 10 p.m. on those days.
The representative from the MTA added that they will focus on the heavy and loud work during the 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. shift.
The construction will take place from Monday to Friday and is not expected to happen on weekends.
West 96th Street A, B and C Station
The details and timeline will be similar for the installation of the elevator for the West 96th Street station.
The elevator will be installed at the station entrance on the southwest corner of West 97th Street and Central Park West. It will also be a three-stop elevator providing access between the street, upper platform, and lower platform.
Construction at the entrance will include refurbishing the existing stairs at the entrance, installing a new sidewalk bump to support the new elevator, and adding new pedestrian ramps and signage.
The planned timeline is exactly the same as the 81st Street project, with the installation of traffic protection expected to begin on June 3 and the demolition, excavation, and utility work slated to run from June 3 of this year to the same date in 2025. The project is expected to be substantially completed sometime in 2026.
Here is what to expect from a streetscape and traffic perspective during Phase 1 of the West 97th Street project, which is slated to a last a couple of months.
The only difference in Phase 2 of the project will be that the normal crosswalk and curb ramp will get restored.
The 96th Street A, B and C station also has multiple other entrances outside of the one on the southwest corner of West 97th Street where the elevator is going, which will be completely out of commission for an extended period during the project.
On the construction side of things, there are not any planned double shifts for the 97th Street project and vast majority of the work will take place between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. There will be some evening work required, but the exact planning on it is still being ironed out.
None of the nearby bus stops will be effected by the West 97th Street project.
There will also be signs in the area directing people to the 96th Street entrances.
For both the Upper West Side construction projects, service impacts on the train lines that use those stations are still being confirmed.
You can watch the full MTA presentation to Community Board 7 below.
Subscribe to West Side Rag’s FREE email newsletter here.
The A doesn’t stop at 96th Street. It stops at 59th and then 125th.
Hi UWSider, the A train makes stops at 96th Street when it runs local overnight. As such, the MTA always refers to the station with the A as one of its lines.
Actually, the MTA does not label station entrances with the letters or numbers of trains that only stop there during the midnight hours.
Thanks for the clarification, Gus!
You’re welcome! It always looks incorrect to me too.
wonderful news!! am hoping to still be alive when they actually complete it.
I listened to part of the community board committee meeting that discussed this, and there has to be a better way to run local government. Over an hour of discussion on this issue alone, including the classic of people complaining that they hadn’t been consulted about a project at the meeting to consult with the public about the project.
It would be fine if these were just public input sessions, but the community boards have real power over what gets built in our neighborhood. Nobody votes for them and they keep getting reappointed no matter what. It’s a system that shuts out everyone who doesn’t have a couple hours to waste on a Tuesday night (disproportionately people who work and people with families). Can’t we just vote for elected officials who will support what the majority of the neighborhood wants?
So construction which will impact buses.
And at the same time that Columbus is closed for “Open Streets” which forces bus detours.
Basically – even worse bus transit.
WE NEED MORE BUSES ON T HE UWS!!!
Construction is only happening Monday-Friday not on Sundays!
There is only one staircase for the B/C station on 96th Street. I assume the staircase on the northwest corner of 97th will remain open during construction? If not, everyone will have to crowd into the one not very wide staircase at 96th St.
Lonnnnnnnnnnng overdue. Accessible stations are better for all of us!
My creaky old knees agree with you, Sarah.
It’s absurd that these projects take so long. No reason an elevator can’t be installed in one year (even less). Ah, but there’s the “full employment-for-unions” law that must be complied with.
Good news about new elevators
It’s cool to see all the diagrams and planning that goes into these repairs and how they will effect citizens.