It may provide shelter with a view on cold and blustery winter nights, but straphangers that use the Sheepshead Bay subway station should not get used to the new bridge over the tracks between Brooklyn- and Manhattan-bound B and Q trains.
The bridge that appeared seemingly overnight on the Sheepshead Bay Road side of the station is only temporary, and part of the $58 million renovation project to the Brooklyn-bound Avenue U and Neck Road subway stations, said MTA Transit spokesperson Deirdre Parker.
“It (bridge) is because we have people that have to skip those two stops on the Brooklyn bound where we’re doing the work, so people have another option to get off at Sheepshead Bay, cross over and ride back,” said Parker.
The work, which began last month and is expected to take a year, also affects B3 riders who normally catch the bus at Avenue U. On weekdays during afternoon rush hours, riders who normally take the bus from Avenue U should get off the train at Kings Highway and transfer to the new B3K route.
The bus will run from Kings Highway , then south to Avenue U, before making its usual B3 stops along Avenue U from Ocean Avenue to Gerritsen Avenue, then make the return trip to Kings Highway.
As for the work being done on the Brooklyn-bound Avenue U and Neck Road stops, it includes major structural repairs to the platforms, columns and tracks. Additionally, new canopies will be installed over the stairs and platforms, along with new mezzanines and platform floors, edges and tactile warning strips near the platform that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Upon completion, the Brooklyn-bound Q line at Avenue U and Neck Road will also have new electrical work, vandal-resistant fluorescent lighting, a new state-of-the-art public address system and a redesigned station booth.
According to an MTA advisory, the two stations serve an average of 11,000 straphangers on an average weekday.
“While we know this long-term shutdown will pose an inconvenience to customers who use these two stations, it is necessary so that we may complete this vital project in a timely fashion,” said MTA Transit President Howard Roberts, Jr. “However, when this work is completed, these stations will be safer, more attractive and contain needed upgrades to provide better service to the community.”
Parker said after the Brooklyn bound Avenue U and Neck Road stations are renovated, work will start on the Manhattan-bound side in early 2010.
As for the temporary bridge spanning the two sides of the Sheepshead Bay station, Parker said it should be taken down after the work is completed.
