New York Transportation Authority seeks design-build teams for projects focused on accessibility

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced Jan. 2 that it is seeking qualified design-build teams to bring accessibility to 23 stations across New York City’s five boroughs as called for in MTA’s 2020-2024 Capital Plan. The teams who are selected will enable full vertical accessibility at the stations by installing elevators and making other improvements in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

These expedited design-build contracts will be awarded to the companies whose proposals offer the best value to the MTA based on an evaluation of qualitative factors as well as cost and schedule.

“Accessibility is a top priority for the MTA, and we are committed to completing these accessibility projects as quickly as possible,” MTA Chairman and CEO Patrick Foye says. “The Capital Plan’s historic $5.2 billion investment in accessibility brings us one step closer to creating the equitable transit system New Yorkers deserve.”

“We are going to deliver these accessibility improvements better, faster and more efficiently, not only by requiring design-build, but also by bundling these projects across MTA agencies to take advantage of proximity,” MTA Chief Development Officer Janno Lieber says. “Innovation is the driving force of this approach.”

According to MTA, work at each station will generally include the design and construction of the following:

• Two to three new elevators per station
• Structural and excavation work to accommodate new elevator installations
• Electrical power upgrades, when necessary
• Station communications systems upgrades, when necessary
• Relocation of existing public and transit utilities
• Replacement, relocation and/or addition of staircases from street to mezzanines and mezzanines to platforms
• Reconstruction of entire platform edges and/or reconstruction of ADA boarding areas

Additional work may be necessary based on existing conditions at the stations, including:

• Platform reconstruction
• Windscreen and canopy replacement
• Architectural finishes replacement
• Structural steel & concrete repairs
• Waterproofing
• Lighting and communication systems replacement/upgrade

 The 2020-2024 Capital Plan will invest $51.5 billion across the region’s subways, buses, commuter rail systems and bridges and tunnels over the next five years. The plan is the largest in MTA history and includes $40 billion devoted to NYC Transit’s subway system and bus network, with priority given to accelerating accessibility. NYC Transit’s Fast Forward plan to modernize the subway system established the goal of making at least 50 more subway stations accessible in five years so that customers would not have to travel farther than two stops to reach an accessible station. The 2020-2024 Capital Plan not only meets that goal, but goes beyond it with a total of 70 stations. 

The first 48 stations identified in September 2019 met the “never more than two-stations away” coverage goal and went even further by including several important transfer points and complexes, as well as other community priority stations. The 20 additional stations identified in December further increase citywide geographic coverage and were chosen based on factors including demographics, transfers and intermodal connections, constructability, ridership and synergy with other work planned for the 2020-2024 Capital Plan in order to maximize resources and minimize adverse impact on customers and communities from the construction process.