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    1. Rail
    2. Infrastructure

    MTA completes final major infrastructure improvement at 1 Av L Station with opening of newly reconstructed First Avenue North entrance

    June 10, 2020
    The reconstructed entrance includes ADA-compliant elevators, with the project expected to be completed by summer 2020.
    Related To: MTA – New York City Transit
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    The final newly reconstructed entrance at the 1 Av L Station, located at the northeast corner of First Avenue and 14th Street, has been opened by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).

    "The L Project illustrated how we can get a lot more work done faster while minimizing customer impact,” said MTA Chief Development Officer Janno Lieber. “The upgrades to the 1 Av Station, including today's reopening of the north side entrance, is a great example of this."

    This is the final major infrastructure element of the 1 Av Station expansion, which is part of the integrated resiliency, accessibility and capacity initiatives under the L Project. Previously, two new entrances near Avenue A and 14th Street were built and opened, one at Avenue A South in November 2019, and one at Avenue A North in February 2020. Following those openings, the existing entrances, which are part of the original 1924 station, were closed to be fully reconstructed. The First Avenue South entrance was reopened in April 2020, and this final original entrance at First Avenue North opened June 9.

    “This newly reconstructed stairway is great news for Lower East Side residents and we can’t wait to welcome our customers to the station’s new elevators, which are ahead of schedule and will greatly improve accessibility here,” said NYC Transit Interim President Sarah Feinberg.

    The L Project encompasses the rehabilitation of the Canarsie L Tube—which carries L trains between Brooklyn and Manhattan and was severely damaged by Superstorm Sandy surge—new power infrastructure to support L train service, and several station improvement projects to increase capacity and accessibility at stations on the L line and several JMZ lines that served as alternate subway service during the tunnel work.

    The tunnel rehabilitation used a revised approach to maintain subway service for 90 percent of L riders, and was completed months ahead of schedule in April 2020. Additional project elements in Manhattan were also completed ahead of schedule, including recently with street restoration and tree planting along 14th Street.

    The project to reconstruct original entrances was a complete rebuild of the infrastructure. The First Avenue North and South entrances are 1,500-square feet each. Reconstructed elements include new tile, handrails, guardrails, ADA-compliant street stair treads, emergency lighting and upper mezzanine structure.

    In addition to the reconstructed entrances, the L Project accessibility and capacity improvements at 1 Av include:

    • Two new platform-to-street ADA elevators, one on either side of 14th Street near Avenue A. They continue to be ahead of the original November 2020 schedule, and are estimated to open this summer
    • Two new street entrances, each 7.5-feet wide
    • New control area, adding 600-square feet to the station
    • New wall tile, energy-efficient lighting and new turnstiles

    At this time, all entrances at 1 Av Station are open for customers with temporary finishes. Final finishes will be scheduled for one entrance at a time in the future, and the entrance will be temporarily closed at that time. Customers will be able to use the entrance to the station that provides complementary access.