MTA awards contracts for station upgrades in Queens

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) yesterday awarded contracts worth $7.5 million for preliminary engineering work at two rail stations in Queens, N.Y.

The first $4.6 million contract is for work on MTA Long Island Rail Road's Mets-Willets Point Station. The contract was awarded to STV Group Inc. The scope of the preliminary work includes plans for lengthening the station's platform to accommodate 12-car trains and for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility

The agency awarded the second $2.9 million contract to HDR Architecture and Engineering PC for work on a Willets Point Station for MTA New York City Transit's 7 Line subway station. The engineering work makes way for newly designed mezzanines with state-of-the-art electronics and communications, full ADA-compliant accessibility, and improved passenger flow for both events and normal service, MTA officials said in a press release.

Expected to be completed within a year, the engineering work paves the way for major enhancements at both stations, MTA officials said. The work also prepares the MTA to collaborate with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as planning for the AirTrain to LaGuardia Airport advances.