New York Governor Kathy Hochul  announced a major Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) milestone with the completion of bridge replacement work on Phase 1 of the Park Avenue Viaduct Replacement Project. Through 128 bridge installations, the project replaced 8,240 track feet of the aging 132-year-old structure, all without disrupting Metro-North service. Thanks to strong project management and an innovative construction approach, the project as a whole is $93 million under budget and 51 months ahead of schedule.

The Park Avenue Viaduct is the elevated structure in East Harlem that carries four Metro-North tracks and 98 percent of Metro-North trains every day. Without it, Metro-North would not be able to provide service to Manhattan for riders from the Bronx, Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess counties, or the state of Connecticut. It was constructed in the 1890s and significant portions of it require comprehensive reconstruction after well over a century of heavy use.

The project is a key example of the MTA’s new better, faster, cheaper approach to construction. Phase 1 kicked off in October of 2023 to replace the full substructure and superstructure from East 115th Street to East 123rd Street along Park Avenue as well as the installation of new track, power, communications and signal systems across the new section. Using an innovative gantry system erected over the Viaduct and spanning Park Avenue, the project was able to replace whole sections of the existing concrete and steel bridge deck with new prefabricated bridge units. Over 19 weekends since June 2024, the project replaced 128 individual sections of track — without disrupting Metro-North service on the other side of the structure.

Thanks to this approach, which was proposed during an extensive Design-Build procurement after industry engagement, Phase 1 of the project is 21 months ahead of its initial schedule. This efficiency allowed the project to simultaneously proceed with Phase 2 of the project, from East 127th Street to mid-block between East 131st Street and East 132nd Street, which commenced in May 2024. Proceeding with Phase 2 on an accelerated timeline led to further time savings for a total of 51 months saved versus the initial baseline. The project is $93 million under its initial budget.

-via Press Release