A significant subway accessibility enhancement project that was completed at Brooklyn's Livonia Avenue Station has been named the 2022 Project of the Year ($10 million to $60 million category) by the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA).
The project was completed in an effort to bring the Canarsie-located station into full compliance with Americans with Disabilities (ADA) guidelines, and was part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) ADA accessibility initiatives for transit stations throughout New York City, according to a release.
Among the rehabilitation efforts made to Livonia Avenue Station include the installation of two elevators; the addition of a passageway above the tracks (which connects the station's platforms); station agent booth upgrades; new ADA compliant stairs; ADA improvements made to the station’s architectural, structural, and mechanical components; and more.
Additionally, the station's safety systems were also upgraded and expanded to provide improved coverage, including a “state of the art” emergency call system installed in each elevator cab, according to a release.
Citnalta TAP JV — a joint venture between Citnalta Construction Corp. and TAP Electric — completed all of the construction, mechanical, and electrical work, in addition to installing the elevators and ADA-approved stairs/passageways.
“The installation of elevators and ADA compliant passageways and stairs at a station that has been continuously serving the public since 1905, is a modern-day engineering and construction feat that grants access and accessibility to countless New Yorkers with disabilities and mobility limitations," said Stephanie Hudson, vice president of TAP Electric. "For MTA customers residing in the neighborhoods of Brownsville and East New York, the vast NYC Transit network and all its amazing destinations, are now so much more within reach for just the cost of one subway fare.”
Prior to the renovations made to Livonia Avenue Station, the previously closest ADA-accessible station on the L train line was at the Wilson Avenue Station in Bushwick (located over two miles away). This was the first major upgrade for Livonia Avenue Station since back in 2005-06, according to a release.
