New York Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that reconstruction work on the 130-year-old Park Avenue Viaduct in East Harlem has begun as areas underneath have been cleared for the viaduct’s new foundations and columns that will support the new structure.
“Carrying hundreds of thousands of passengers every day, the Park Avenue Viaduct is a critical piece of our transportation infrastructure,” Governor Hochul said. “This replacement is essential to providing faster and safer service to our Metro-North customers, while minimizing impact to the local community.”
The Park Avenue Viaduct is an elevated steel structure that carries four Metro-North Railroad tracks along Park Avenue between East 110th Street and the Harlem River Lift Bridge. Metro-North Railroad trains traveling along the Harlem, Hudson and New Haven lines utilize the Park Avenue Viaduct to access Harlem-125th Street Station and Grand Central Terminal, totaling 98% of Metro-North trains.
The $590 million for the first phase of the Park Avenue Viaduct Replacement project will replace major segments of the elevated steel structure, nearly half of which was first built in 1893, to ensure it remains in a state of good repair; $500.9 million is federally funded.
Phase 1 work will include replacing existing structures, tracks, power, communications, and signal system from East 115th Street to East 123rd Street. Phase 1 construction will continue through 2026. Work currently is underway for substructure construction, focusing on the viaduct’s foundations and columns.
The project seeks to minimize impacts on the surrounding community by strategically phasing the work, which also results in limited impacts to train schedules. In line with community feedback and in conjunction with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), project design elements will include: a more welcoming lighter color structure, improved lighting, and increased pedestrian safety under the viaduct. By utilizing modern design standards and materials, the new structure is expected to reduce local noise and vibration levels as compared to existing levels. MTA Arts & Design is also coordinating a permanent art installation for 116th Street as part of the project. The project builds on more than $24 million of recent MTA investment in the Harlem-125th Street Station area, including lighting improvements, station work performed under the enhanced station initiative, customer service kiosk enhancements, stairwell replacement, and the painting of other sections of the viaduct.
-via Press Release