MTA To Close 2 Astoria Subway Stations For Renovations

ASTORIA, NY — Two Astoria subway stations will be shuttered for weeks as they get a major makeover, the MTA announced Monday. The 30th Avenue and 36th Avenue stops on the N and W lines will close for renovations on Oct. 23, the agency said.

The MTA is folding the century-old stations into its so-called Enhanced Station Initiative, which will include structural repairs and fixes to the entrances, as well as new staircases, security cameras, LED lights and "windscreens" on the aboveground platforms, the MTA said.

The stops will be shuttered until spring 2018, when the repairs are slated to finish, the MTA said. The repairs and similar projects at the Broadway and 39th Avenue stations later next year have a price tag of $150 million, the agency said.

"The Enhanced Station Initiative embraces new techniques and innovations that simplify the work and shorten construction time while bringing real improvements to the transit experience," Ronnie Hakim, the MTA's managing director and former head of New York City Transit, said in a statement.

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Commuters shut out of the two stations can use the nearby Broadway, 39th Avenue and Astoria Boulevard stations for N and W service, or the Steinway Street and 36th Street stops on the M and R lines.

During the closures, the MTA will increase rush-hour and weekend service on the Q102 bus line, which runs parallel to the train route and offers transfers to the E, M and R trains at Queens Plaza and the N, W and 7 trains at Queensboro Plaza.

A total of 33 subway stations will get renovations under the Enhanced Stations Initiative, the MTA said. The first, the 53rd Street stop on the R line in Brooklyn, opened earlier this year.

(Lead image via Patch)