UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Commuters navigating construction barriers and cramped passageways at the East 86th Street-Lexington Avenue subway station are not out of the woods yet: The project to make the station fully accessible is facing several delays, MTA officials told Upper East Siders this week.
At a Community Board 8 meeting, MTA and construction officials described several obstacles that led to the lengthy delay, including scaffolding from a nearby building that blocked work on the northwest corner and unexpected underground utilities.
The project started in December of 2023 and was initially slated for completion by the end of 2026.
As construction drags on, commuters riding the 4, 5, and 6 trains are forced to navigate crowded platforms, narrow passageways and long lines at turnstiles, Craig Lader, the co-chair of Community Board 8's Transportation Committee.
"This is now going to be delayed a year," Lader said. "I really fear that if there was a need for a quick evacuation, that it would be really problematic, and somebody could get hurt or even worse."
Construction officials said the project team changed the work sequence after scaffolding went up over the northwest-corner work area, near Best Buy.
The scaffolding was expected to come down in summer 2024, but remained in place, Christopher Alexandrich, the project manager of the construction at the station, said.
Crews also removed about 1,100 cubic yards of rock to expand the station's lower mezzanine. Once excavated, crews found a few surprises, like utility lines that did not match underground maps.
"Whenever you open up the street, it's just unknowns," Alexandrich said. "Drawings are provided with rough dimensions, and a lot of those drawings are 60, 70, 80 years old."
The delays drew skepticism from Upper East Sider Andrew Fine, who said the MTA should have anticipated the challenges.
"Let's face it. This is the MTA. They're not new to this. They should know that there are a lot of complications," Fine said.
The goal of the project is to add one new street-level elevator for the station's southbound platform and two new upper- and lower-platform elevators that would service both directions.
While the station currently has one elevator, it does not currently offer full accessibility.
Construction will also include the implementation of an ADA-compliant raised boarding area featuring "platform edge tactile strips," as well as the reconstruction of multiple staircases throughout the station and the addition of new curb ramps at street level.
However, there is some good news: MTA officials said construction barricades should begin taking up less space as work advances.
The changes would open more room for riders, though some construction barriers will remain, Alexandrich said.
On the northeast side, they expect to reduce the footprint of the construction before the new year.
On the northwest side, near Best Buy, they said the barricades could begin moving inward during the first three months of 2027.
For questions, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.
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