MTA unveils integrated 42 St connection project along 42 St corridor

The integrated 42nd Street Connection Project along the 42 St Corridor has been released by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).

As a result of the MTA’s new approach to project management under the MTA Construction and Development, several rehabilitation projects between Times Sq-42 St and Grand Central-42 St – including the redesign and rebuild of the 42 St Shuttle – have now been unified under one project CEO. In just five months since implementation, MTA says the new project management approach has cut costs by $10 million without interruption to subway service at one of the busiest station complexes in the nation. 

When completed, the 42 St Connection Project will more seamlessly connect the transit corridor underneath 42 Street to make transferring easier, reduce the overall commute time for customers and expand system access for customers with disabilities by making the 42 St Shuttle line accessible.

The ongoing work continues to serve as an example of how the MTA’s new agency-wide capital project group, MTA Construction & Development, is achieving both cost and schedule savings by bundling projects together, leveraging design-build and modern construction techniques and putting them under the leadership of a single project CEO.

“The newly integrated 42 St Connection Project demonstrates the real customer benefits that come from rethinking how we manage projects and deliver better, faster and cheaper,” said Janno Lieber, MTA Chief Development Officer. “By bundling this work and bringing on one dedicated CEO to lead the effort, we’re cutting costs and reducing timelines—all without sacrificing service to our customers. The 42 St Connection Project will connect more of New York for more New Yorkers and serve as a model for how to build other projects.” 

Making the 42 St shuttle accessible was originally scheduled to take 49 months, but MTA Construction & Development has managed to reduce that time frame by over a year and the work is now set to be completed in just 36 months. Work to improve access to the Lexington and Flushing subway lines at Grand Central is now set to take place in just 20 months, a 13-month reduction from the originally forecast estimate of 33 months.

More than 1.1 million people pass through the 42 St corridor every day—a figure higher than the ridership of the entire subway and bus system of Boston in a full day, according to the MTA. Pieces of the work will wrap up as soon as next month, with the entire project expected to be completed in 2025 for an expected $750 million.

Specific improvements that will now be overseen by Lieber, Soliman and MTA Construction & Development include:

42 St Shuttle

• Expanded capacity on the train by 20 percent during peak times;
• ADA-compliant by reconfiguring and straightening the tracks to remove the gaps between the platform and the trains;
• New signaling system, which is configurable to the latest signaling technology;
• New project management approach has reduced the construction schedule by 25 percent from 49 months to 36 months and improved subway service during construction;
• Work will ultimately bring greater reliability and accessibility;
• Free transfer to Bryant Park Station Complex BDFM7; and
• New street elevator, wider street stairs and larger fare control areas. 

42nd Street passageway subway entrance

• Re-phase project to improve customer experience and reduce duration of closures during escalator and elevator replacements;
• Reduced construction schedule from 26 months to 19 months;
• Re-built stairs in seven weeks instead of eight months and re-opened for customer use sooner; and
• Reduced escalator outage from 14 months to eight months.

Grand Central Station (Lexington and Flushing lines)

• Fully ADA-compliant facility;
• Already reduced schedule by two months on capacity and accessibility improvements;
• Already begun column, floor and wall finishing work earlier to improve the customer experience;
• Work will bring 12 widened platform stairwells and five brand new stairs;
• Work will bring new and redesigned escalators and elevators;
• 22,000-square-foot shuttle platform—the widest platform in the entire New York City Transit subway system; and
• Reduced schedule on elevator replacement for Lexington and Flushing lines from 33 months to 20 months.

Bryant Park Station Complex

• New in-system transfer between 42 St-Times Sq and Bryant Park, providing access there to the 6 Av BDFM lines.
• Work expected to begin next year.

Times Square

• Fully ADA-compliant facility;
• New turnstiles;
• Digital information screens;
• Energy-efficient LED lighting; and
• Rebuilt Shuttle station, including a centralized platform serving two tracks.