86th Street Station to Get Three New Elevators, Other Upgrades

Representatives from the MTA met Wednesday with Community Board 8’s Transportation Committee to discuss some upgrades being planned at the 86th and Lexington Avenue subway station.

Advertisement

“The 86 St. Station has one elevator already, and we’re adding three new elevators and adding other accessibility upgrades to make this station ADA-compliant,” an MTA communications director told East Side Feed. One of those elevators will connect the street to the upper platform and serve the southbound lane, while the other two will connect the upper and lower platforms serving both directions.

The MTA is also planning to install ADA-compliant raised boarding areas and tactile edge strips on both platforms, relocate and reconstruct platform-level stairs to meet ADA requirements, make new ‘curb cuts’ for wheelchair access at street level, and conduct track repairs to reduce the gap between the platform edge and the train car to accommodate the ADA improvements.

These upgrades are part of a project called ADA Package 5 — Design-Build services for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) – which covers improvements at thirteen stations across the five boroughs. A design contract worth $577.2 million was awarded to Judlau Contracting, Inc., a subsidiary of OHLA.

The MTA is also planning some ‘general station environment upgrades’ like new lighting and updated fire alarm and communication systems.

While timing is currently up in the air, they’re expecting construction to begin mid-month and last until late 2026, when the project is expected to be ‘substantially complete.’

The MTA says it will “maintain access to crosswalks and sidewalks at all times at street level,” and while “limited platform closures” will be required, this will only impact one side at a time. “…The station will always remain open during all phases of construction, and it will not be fully shut down. When we know those dates and have them scheduled, we will make community aware ahead of time.”