Karmactive Staff
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) officially began construction on long-awaited accessibility improvements at the Middletown Road subway station in Pelham Bay on October 3. The project marks a significant milestone for Bronx residents who have sought better access to public transportation.
The station will receive two new street-to-platform elevators, two new street-to-control-area staircases, track improvements, and street-level utility upgrades. These include a new water pipeline, improved drainage via catch basins, and curb extensions on Westchester Avenue between Middletown Road and Mulford Avenue and Hutchinson River Parkway East.
“Middletown Road is just one of many accessibility projects coming to the Bronx as part of the new Capital Plan’s unprecedented $10 billion investment in the borough,” said MTA Chair Janno Lieber. “We’re pushing hard to get this work done so all New Yorkers have access to the subway system – this City’s greatest tool for equity and affordability.”
The $57.8 million project is expected to be completed by Summer 2027, a notable update from earlier projections of early 2029. Construction company MLJTC2 JV will serve as the contractor, while Mid-American Elevator Co. Inc. will manufacture and install the elevators.
The Middletown Road station is part of ADA Package 6, which includes accessibility upgrades at five subway stations across Brooklyn and the Bronx: Norwood Avenue, Burnside Avenue, Myrtle Avenue, Avenue I, and Middletown Road. The package receives $254 million from the Federal Transit Administration’s All Stations Accessibility Program (ASAP), with local funding provided through the Congestion Relief program.
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The project has special significance because it addresses a legal battle that began in 2016 when Bronx Independent Living Services (BILS) and two residents with disabilities sued the MTA. They argued that when the station underwent more than $22 million renovation in 2013-2014, the MTA violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by not adding elevators. The U.S. Department of Justice joined the lawsuit in 2018, and a federal judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in 2019. A 2023 settlement requires the MTA to add elevators within seven years.
The Middletown Road project is part of a broader effort to improve accessibility throughout the Bronx. In 2020, only 13 of the borough’s 71 subway stations were accessible. Once the current plans are completed, 42 stations (59% of Bronx stations) will be accessible, exceeding the citywide average of 55%.
Beyond station accessibility, the MTA’s 2025-2029 Capital Plan includes replacing the Bronx’s aging R262 subway cars with modern vehicles, a $7 billion investment that will retire the last 1980s-era subway cars serving the borough. The plan also includes Penn Station Access, which will bring Metro-North service to four new East Bronx stations, potentially cutting travel times by up to 30 minutes.
State Senator Nathalia Fernandez called the groundbreaking “a step towards making our transit system work for everyone,” while Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson thanked the MTA for “their continued work in upgrading our city’s transit infrastructure.”
Since 2020, the MTA has completed 38 accessibility projects, with 35 more currently in construction, 19 in design or procurement, and 60 more planned as part of the 2025-2029 Capital Plan.
