The MTA announced on Tuesday that 7 line service will be suspended between the 34th Street-Hudson Yards subway station and the Queensboro Plaza subway station for six weekends starting on Saturday, Feb. 4 as construction of new elevators is completed.
The first subway closure will start at 12:15 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 4 and last until 5 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 6, according to the MTA. Service will also be disrupted from 3:45 a.m. on Saturdays to 10 p.m. on Sundays during the following weekends:
- Feb. 11 - Feb. 12
- Feb. 25 - Feb. 26
- Mar. 11 - Mar. 12
- Mar. 25 - Mar. 26
- Apr. 22 - Apr. 23
Free shuttle buses will be provided to customers in lieu of subway service — in Queens between the Queensboro Plaza and Vernon Boulevard-Jackson Avenue stations, and in Manhattan between the Times Square and 34th Street-Hudson Yards stations.
Additional weekend service changes are expected later in 2023 and again in 2024, the MTA said.
The Queensboro Plaza station served nearly 70,000 riders during an average weekday in November of last year, according to the MTA. That estimate included customers who entered and transferred at the station.
The closures will allow the MTA to install two elevators at the Queensboro Plaza subway station — one at the southern entrance, and the other between the station's mezzanine and two elevated platforms. The elevators and "other accessibility enhancements" will make the station "fully accessible," the MTA said.
"The improvements coming to Queensboro Plaza will greatly benefit tens of thousands of riders," NYC Transit President Richard Davey said in a statement. "Accessibility is such an integral part of mass transit, especially for a city like New York where mass transit is essential for many. When complete, the project will provide critical accessibility upgrades, security updates, and customer experience improvements throughout the station."