Officials from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced the latest station improvements at the Bedford Av station in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, marking completion of major construction on the Brooklyn side of the Canarsie Tunnel rehabilitation project.
The rehabilitation of the Canarsie Tunnel between Brooklyn and Manhattan, was completed in April 2020. The tunnel reconstruction was necessitated by flood damage caused by Superstorm Sandy, but additional components such as accessibility through the Americans with Disabilities Act and station capacity expansions were added to maximize line improvements under one work plan.
That plan includes station upgrades at 12 stations in addition to Bedford Av and 1 Av, in Manhattan, which was completed in June. Three new electrical substations are also being built, one in Manhattan and two in Brooklyn, which will allow 10% more trains to run during peak times.
“The Canarsie Tunnel Project is a model of using innovative technologies and construction methods to minimize impacts to service and the public. This out-of-the-box thinking is enabling MTA C&D to deliver projects better, faster and cheaper, even during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Janno Lieber, President of MTA Construction & Development. “This progress can only be sustained by a fully funded Capital Plan, which is in jeopardy without out action by the federal government to provide the $12 billion necessary to move these projects forward.”
“Bedford Av station is one of the busiest stations in Brooklyn, so a significant number of people will benefit from these upgrades,” said Sarah Feinberg, NYC Transit Interim President. “While the tunnel rehabilitation was a big part of the project, the improvements along the corridor are just as important to provide more reliable service.”
In addition to new ADA elevators opened in August, new Bedford Av station improvements introduced today include:
- New and rebuilt staircases at street level and from the platform to the mezzanine – doubled stair capacity at the Driggs Avenue end of the station
- More efficient turnstile layouts and additional turnstiles
- New ADA boarding area at platform and new tactile tiles on platform edge
- New wall tiles in the Bedford Av and Driggs Av mezzanines
- Reconstruction of N. 7th Street roadway
- Reconstruction of sidewalks between Bedford and Driggs Avenues
- New station emergency lighting
- New closed-circuit television security system
- New digital information screens
- New Help Point intercom
In August, the MTA made available to customers two new elevators that are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. One travels from the street to the mezzanine and the other from the mezzanine to the platform. Bedford Av is one of seven station upgrade projects completed during the COVID-19 pandemic in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The MTA remains committed to increasing its number of fully ADA-compliant stations despite financial uncertainty. Without federal funding, such projects in the 2020-24 MTA Capital Plan could take longer to be achieved.
For more information about accessible stations across the MTA network, visit https://new.mta.info/accessibility/stations.
For more information about the L Project, visit https://new.mta.info/l-project/construction.
New improvements at the Bedford Avenue L station
