MTA Completes Upgrades at Woodhaven Blvd J Z Station

MTA Chair & CEO Janno Lieber announces the completion of ADA elevators and other improvements at the Woodhaven Blvd station on the J/Z lines on Friday, Jan 24, 2025. (Marc A. Hermann / MTA)

NEW YORK CITY - The MTA announced it has completed two new elevators at the Woodhaven Blvd J Z Station, making the passenger station fully accessible.

According to the release, crews also upgraded the platforms and installed new fare control areas. Additionally, crews added two new stairways, replaced four other stairways, and added tactile warning strips to platform edges. Elsewhere, crews installed six new turnstiles and upgraded mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. The station also received other safety enhancements. These include a new fire alarm system, CCTV cameras, communication systems, and digital information screens. The upgrades were made possible after being included in ADA Bundle 2. According to the MTA, ADA Package 2 is part of a larger accessibility initiative and provides improvements to eight subway stations. These stations are Westchester Sq-East Tremont Av ​, 181 St ​, Queensboro Plaza ​​​, 8 Av ​, Court Sq ​, Woodhaven Blvd ​​, and elevator replacements at Marcy Av ​​​ and Flushing Av ​​.

The project was the first MTA accessibility project that bypassed an existing mezzanine to use direct to platform elevators, thus allowing the MTA to save time and cost compared to other MTA station designs. There are two new entrances on the east side of the station to “allow customers to access the station without crossing the many lanes of traffic on Woodhaven Blvd, a further improvement to the customer experience at the station.” By using a new approach to capital delivery and two direct to platform elevators, MTA Construction & Development saved around $40 million from the project budget. Once the project entered construction, another $8 million was saved in construction costs, “bringing the accessibility project and station renewal in for a total $140 million.” $177 million grant from the FTA made the project possible. The surplus grant funds will be allocated to other capital projects, per the MTA. 22.5% of the budget was awarded to DBE, or Disadvantaged Business Enterprise, firms. MLJ Contracting Corp and TC Electric, LLC. joint venture served as the project’s contractor.

Additionally, the station received 13 new glass panels by Kathleen McCarthy, an artist and ecologist. These panels “contain imagery of diamondback terrapins and cross sections of a pine seedling and a corn stem that juxtapose the original metal sculptures: three large-scale heads forms.”

“Not only will this benefit seniors, people with disabilities, and parents and caretakers with kids in strollers, but by throwing out the playbook the MTA saved $40 million on this project before construction began and another $8 million thanks to efficiencies during construction,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. “As always, we need to thank our federal partners – the funding support from the FTA made this project possible.”

“Through innovation and sound project management, the MTA is making historic investments in accessibility and delivering projects better, faster, and cheaper than ever,” said MTA Construction & Development President Jamie Torres-Springer. “At Woodhaven Boulevard, we ensured this century old station is accessible and reliable for future generations of Queens residents.”