Work begins to replace Metro-North’s Park Avenue Viaduct

NEW YORK — Work has begun on rebuilding of the Park Avenue Viaduct, the 130-year-old elevated route to Grand Central Terminal and Harlem-125th Street Station that is used by 98% of Metro-North Railroad trains — a project Metro-North President Catherine Rinaldi pointed to as the most important state-of-good repair project faced by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority commuter railroads in an interview last year with Trains News Wire.

“Every train Metro-North operates east of the Hudson River — 750 passenger trains a day — either travels over the Park Avenue Viaduct or connects with a train that does,” Rinaldi said in a Thursday press release. “So to call this 130-year-old infrastructure ‘critical’ seems like an understatement. Metro-North is extremely appreciative that MTA Construction & Development has prioritized replacement of the viaduct in a timely way that will allow the railroad to continue operations without significant disruption to schedules.”

The initial stages of the work have seen areas underneath the structure cleared for new foundations and columns to support the new structure. The $590 million first phase of the project will replace major segments of the elevated steel structure, much of which dates to 1893. The first-phase work will include replacing existing structures, tracks, power, communications, and signal systems from East 115th Street to East 123rd Street, and will continue through 2025. Just over $500 million of the project is federally funded.

“Park Avenue Viaduct infrastructure is well past its useful life and it’s time to build a more resilient viaduct that can serve the region for another hundred years,” said Jamie Torres-Springer, president of MTA Construction & Development. “MTA C&D will utilize innovative modern tools and materials to reduce construction noise and vibrations to the surrounding neighborhoods, and we are coordinating closely with the City of New York to integrate this project with DOT street improvements.”

In that interview with Trains last year, Rinaldi talked about the challenge of rebuilding such a key and heavily used structure.

“How do you get it done while being able to maintain a reasonably reliable service? It’s going to be a real challenge and it’s going to require a lot of cooperation and collaboration between the different operating departments,” she said. Drawing a comparison to the Long Island Rail Road’s Third Track project, which saw a series of weekend closures — but could also divert at least some passengers to the roughly parallel Babylon Branch – she said, “There’s no redundancy to the Park Avenue viaduct. So when you’re doing that incredibly impactful work … you can’t shut the railroad down for a year and a half, right? So those kind of coordinating efforts are going to be extremely challenging and important.”

The phased construction aims to limit the impact on train schedules as well as on the surrounding community. The MTA says the new structure will have “a more welcoming lighter color,” as well as improved lighting, increased pedestrian safety under the viaduct, and will use modern design standards and materials expected to reduce noise and vibration levels. More details are available on the project website.