Forte Construction, JV Partner Citnalta Construction Finish 68th St.-Hunter College Station Modernization
Written by Jennifer McLawhorn, Managing Editor
MTA CEO Janno Lieber, President of MTA Construction and Development Jamie Torres-Springer, FTA Regional Administrator Michael Culotta and MTA Chief Accessibility Officer Quemuel Arroyo (center) celebrate with construction leaders and local disability advocates.
Courtesy of Forte Construction
NEW YORK CITY - Forte Construction and Joint Venture Partner Citnalta Construction complete passengers station modernization ahead of schedule and under budget.
According to the release, the MTA and FTA celebrated the completion of the station renovation project that modernized the century-old station. The station is also now ADA-compliant. The project undertaken at 68th St.-Hunter College Station came in $21 million under budget and was finished ahead of schedule. The station, located below Hunter College, is “a major stop for the 6 local train servicing Lexington Avenue in the heart of the Upper East Side neighborhood” and serves more than 20,000 daily riders.
Forte Construction was the general contractor and served as managing partner in a joint venture with Citnalta Construction Corp. Crews finished the modernization over several years, working alongside Gannet Flemming, MFM Contracting Corp, and Mid-American Elevator. Forte-Citnalta JV installed three ADA-compliant elevators, signage, lighting, cameras, and tactile edge strips. One elevator is located from 68th Street to the mezzanine level, and the other two from the mezzanine to the platforms. Crews also relocated utilities to make room for these elevators.
Crews had to double the number of entrances and exits, and this proved to be an important part of upgrading the station. Six stairwells were rehabilitated, and two new street-to-platform staircases were built to allow for increased station capacity. One of these new staircases was built inside a high-rise building where a retail store used to be located. Additionally, crews relocated utilities for these entrances and exits, and the “construction team replaced a century-old water main that was three feet in diameter and rerouted a complicated network of pipes and cables below the property.”
Regional Administrator for the FTA Region 2 Michael Culotta said, “The project here at 68th Street is a real game changer. These features transform lives, and they change communities, but they were not required when stations like the one here at 68th Street were built 106 years ago, back in 1918. So, today’s opening is truly significant. . . I’m so excited to be here for today’s milestone. It’s a historic moment for the ADA. Today, we celebrate how we work together to help make our nation’s oldest rail stations accessible to people with disabilities.”
Forte Construction Project Manager Krzysztof Gazda said, “This was a very complex and high-profile project at this station that is such a key asset of not only this neighborhood, but also for the academic community at Hunter College. The ADA is a critical law to create access and economic opportunities for people with mobility limitations, creating new options to live, work, shop, dine or go to school in this community. Forte Construction is proud to have led this modernization project for the MTA.”
Below is a video from the MTA, showing the accessible station:
