Two Brooklyn subway stations are closing for five months' worth of renovations. They serve more than 18,000 riders a week on the 3 line. But riders and the MTA agree, the work is long overdue. Transit reporter Jose Martinez filed this report.

Get out while you can. The 3 train won't be stopping at Rockaway Avenue for a while, or at Van Siclen Avenue, as the MTA gets going on renovations that will shut the stations through at least September.

"It's going to be a big inconvenience, but the main thing is they're finally fixing up the stations around here,” said one straphanger. “It's been in distress for quite a few years now. So the work in progress is going to be well-needed, well-deserved for this area."

The stations are the first of several along the New Lots Avenue stretch of the line that will get spruced up as part of an $88 million renovation project.

Riders can take free shuttle buses, or walk to neighboring stations.

"A block down, a couple of blocks down will just be more exercise," said one rider.

"People have to travel and you have to go all the way to the other station if you have kids or if you're disabled. A few weeks ago, I was on crutches and to have to travel to New Lots or to Pennsylvania would be too much work," said another.

The MTA says the stations are badly in need of repair.

In a statement, the MTA said, "We must perform this vital work to reverse decades of wear and improve these stations to the standard our customers expect. To perform this work safely and efficiently, the stations must be taken out of service."

"I have a restaurant right under the train stop and it will really hurt the station if they shut down this for five months," said one business owner.

Riders and shopkeepers are going to be hoping that the targeted reopening date doesn't turn out to be overly optimistic. A similar renovation project in the Bronx has taken longer than expected because the structural work has turned out to be more than anticipated.

The MTA says riders can expect a full facelift at stations that are close to a hundred years old.

The next stage of renovations will be at the Saratoga and Pennsylvania Avenue stations, followed by the Sutter Avenue-Rutland Road and Junius Street stations.

The entire project is set to be completed by the summer of 2016, or so the MTA hopes.