The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) Metro-North Railroad will make Williams Bridge, Woodlawn and Wakefield stations ADA-accessible as part of the 2020-2024 Capital Plan, according to an announcement from Metro-North Railroad President Catherine Rinaldi.
The stations join Ludlow Station which was announced last September.
Williams Bridge, Woodlawn and Wakefield Stations in the Bronx will each get two new elevators on the northbound and southbound platforms. Williams Bridge and Woodlawn will also each get two new stairs and two new shelters. Tactile warning strips will also be replaced where needed. Repairs will be made to concrete and other parts of the platform, as well.
Wakefield Station, the northernmost Bronx station, received new staircases and canopies in 2005.
“Today's announcement strengthens our commitment to improving accessibility,” Rinaldi said. “Thanks to investments in the 2020-2024 Capital Plan we can deliver the improvements our customers need and deserve.”
Ludlow will also get two new elevators on the northbound and southbound platforms. Four new stations that will be built in the Bronx as part of Metro-North Railroad's Penn Station Access Project will be fully accessible. These are Parkchester, Morris Park, Hunts Point and Co-Op City.
“Our design-build approach is expediting the way we deliver these critical accessibility improvements to our customers," said MTA Chief Development Officer Janno Lieber. "We are taking advantage of proximity and rethinking the way we bundle our station projects to realize further efficiencies.”
Of Metro-North Railroad’s 85 stations in New York State (which includes Grand Central Terminal), 60 are currently accessible. As a result of investments to be made in the forthcoming Capital Plan, 78 percent of Metro-North stations serving 93 percent of customers will be accessible.
On Sept. 25, the MTA Board approved the 2020-2024 Capital Plan to invest $51.5 billion into the region’s subways, buses and railroads over the next five years. This plan – which represents the largest amount of investment in MTA history – includes $4.7 billion for Metro-North Railroad priority initiatives.
These goals were made with input from elected officials throughout the service region, and details of the project in the proposed capital plan are available on the MTA’s website.
