Phase One Milestone of MTA Park Avenue Viaduct Replacement Project

Governor Hochul has announced a milestone in Phase One of the MTA Park Avenue Viaduct Replacement project.

The Park Avenue Viaduct is a continuous elevated structure that is made up of 128 bridge spans. The elevated structure is now fully replaced between East 115th Street and East 123rd Street along Park Avenue.

As part of the bridge replacement work, a total of 8,240 track feet have been replaced without disruption to Metro-North services.

Phase 1 has come in 21 months ahead of schedule and it is estimated that once the full project is complete, it will be 51 months ahead of schedule compared to the initial baseline. The project is also 93 million USD under its initial budget.

Governor Hochul said:

Today’s milestone demonstrates the transformative work we can get done in New York when we invest in transit.

The Park Avenue viaduct is a lifeline for hundreds of thousands of Metro-North riders and now, riders will benefit from a more reliable ride for decades to come. Completing work on an elevated structure that dates back to the Gilded Age ahead of schedule and under budget shows what’s possible when we modernize our infrastructure and put riders first.

The Park Avenue Viaduct is located in East Harlem and carries four Metro-North tracks and 98 percent of Metro-North services every day. It provides a metro connection to Manhattan for passengers from the Bronx, Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess counties and from Connecticut. Built in the 1890s, large sections of it are now in need of comprehensive reconstruction.

The MTA is hailing this project as a key example of its “new better, faster, cheaper approach to construction”.

Phases 1 & 2

Phase 1 started in October 2023. Its scope was to replace the full substructure and superstructure from East 115th Street to East 123rd Street along Park Avenue as well as the installation of new track, power, communications and signal systems along the new section. By using a gantry system erected over the viaduct and spanning Park Avenue, it was possible to replace entire sections of the existing concrete and steel bridge deck with new prefab units. Starting in June 2024, the project replaced 128 individual sections over the course of 19 weekends, without disrupting Metro-North services on the other side of the structure.

Thanks to this efficiency, it was possible to proceed with Phase 2 simultaneously – form East 127th Street to mid-block between East 131st Street and East 132nd Street. This work started in May 2024.

The Park Avenue Viaduct is a prime example of critical MTA infrastructure that had been left to rot for decades – but not anymore. Our 2025–2029 Capital Plan is all about bringing infrastructure into the 21st century, and we look forward to bringing the same innovative and cost-saving approach that has succeeded here to projects all over the system.

The approach to these works was proposed by project contractor Halmar International and it has become standard practice as part of MTA Construction & Development’s major Design-Build procurements.

Although the entire structure for Phase 1 is complete, further work on the systems and track level will continue throughout the winter. It should then be substantially completed by April 2026, while substantial completion for Phase 2 is estimated for September 2027.

How It Was Done

Step one was to construct new structural supports under the existing viaduct. Then, during a weekend Bridge Replacement Operation, two tracks of the viaduct were taken out of service – with weekend service continuing uninterrupted on the other two tracks.

Using a moveable gantry, sections of the existing structure were cut out and replaced with new, prefabricated sections by attaching them to the new support structure below. Lastly, the track and other systems were connected into the rest of the viaduct, ensuring a smooth transition to full four-track service before the Monday morning commute.

Funding

The cost of Phase 1 is 590 million USD of which 509 million USD has come from the federal budget.

Metro-North rail services started in 1983 and it is now the second-most heavily used commuter railroad in the country.