MTA breaks ground on Middletown Road accessible station project

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has broken ground on the Middletown Road 6 accessible station project. MTA notes funds from the federal government and congestion relief are covering accessibility improvements, track improvements and street-level utility upgrades. Middletown Road is the first of five stations in ADA Bundle 6 to begin construction. 

“Middletown Road is just one of many accessibility projects coming to the Bronx as part of the new capital plan’s unprecedented $10 billion investment in the borough,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. “We’re pushing hard to get this work done so all New Yorkers have access to the subway system—this city’s greatest tool for equity and affordability.”  

MTA anticipates the project to be completed by summer 2027. The project’s contractor is MLJTC2 JV and the elevator manufacturer and installer is Mid-American Elevator Co. Inc. The accessibility improvements include:  

• Installation of two new street to platform elevators.  
• Installation of two new street to control area stairs.  
• Track improvements.  
• Street-level utility upgrades, including the installation of a new water pipeline, improved drainage with catch basins.  
• Curb extensions on Westchester Avenue between Middletown Road and Mulford Avenue and Hutchinson River Parkway East.  

According to the MTA, package 6 provides improvements to five subway stations throughout Brooklyn and the Bronx: Norwood Avenue J, Burnside Avenue 4, Myrtle Avenue M, Avenue I and F and Middletown Road 6. The package is funded in part by $254 million in support from the Federal Transit Administration’s All Stations Accessibility Program, along with other federal sources. Local funding for the project is made possible by the Congestion Relief program. 

Since the inception of MTA Construction & Development (C&D) in 2020, the agency notes 38 accessibility projects have been completed, 35 more in construction now, another 19 in design or procurement and 60 total coming as part of the 2025-2029 MTA Capital Plan.   

According to the MTA, in 2020, 13 of the Bronx’s 71 subway stations were accessible. Since then:  

• Six have been made accessible  
• Another nine are in construction   
• Another four are in design or procurement 
• An additional 10-plus are funded in the 2025-2029 Capital Plan   

The MTA says the investment will allow for a total of 42 of the Bronx’s stations, or 59%, to be accessible, which is higher than the citywide average of 55%. In addition, the 2025-2029 Capital Plan will keep the Bronx’s elevators in a state of good repair, replacing eight elevators at three stations that would otherwise age past their useful life.  

The Bronx’s Metro-North stations have also seen significant investment, as MTA notes three stations are currently in construction for ADA accessibility and renewal and another has been identified for the 2025-2029 plan. 

In the 2025-2029 Plan, funded projects include:  

• Station component repairs in at least 14 stations.  
• Elevated structure repairs and painting on the Pelham 6 Line, Jerome 4 Line, White Plains Road 2 and 5 Line and Dyre Avenue 5 Line. 
• Underground structural repairs on the Jerome 4 Line and White Plains Road 2 and 5 Line. 
• Rehabilitation at nine electrical power substations and construction of a new one serving the 1 Train.  

“Today's groundbreaking is a significant milestone for the MTA as ADA package 6 is the first bundle of accessibility improvements to unlock funds from congestion pricing,” said MTA C&D President Jamie Torres-Springer. “Once complete, this station's two new street-to-platform elevators will strengthen our network of accessible stations not only in Pelham Bay, but throughout our transit system.”     

Subway cars  

MTA says that in the 2025-2029 Capital Plan, trains serving the 1 and 6 lines will be replaced with new, modern R262 subway cars. According to the authority, the $7 billion investment will retire the last 1980s-era subway cars serving the Bronx and comes on top of $1 billion included in the 2020-2024 Capital Plan.  

Repairs and upgrades will also be made to the 240 Street shop, which services cars on the 1 line.  

Expansion  

The MTA notes Penn Station Access will bring Metro-North Railroad service to four new stations in the Bronx. The $3 billion investment will expand rail access to hundreds of thousands of residents of the East Bronx in Hunts Point, Parkchester, Morris Park and Co-op City, cutting travel times by up to 30 minutes.  

Additionally, the Second Avenue Subway, while physically in Manhattan, will bring significant benefits to Bronx riders through the transfer at 125 Street to the Q train, providing access to East Side destinations. 

Signals  

The new railcars will feature new signals. According to the MTA, the work requires installing new equipment on subway trains. Once those cars are in place, signal modernization upgrades can begin starting as soon as the next Five-Year Capital Plan.  

The authority notes the existing signals in the Bronx are in good shape, especially compared to the rest of the system. The oldest conventional signals in the Bronx date to the 1990s, compared to signals dating back to the 1930s in parts of Brooklyn and Queens.