Long-Awaited Broadway/Bleecker Street Transfer Still Awaited

By Naomi Cohen The Broadway-Bleecker Street transfer is now taking longer to open than all of the first part of the IRT in the early 1900s. After rumors of openings in June, then July, then mid-August, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is taking an [oath of silence] in finalizing a date. The project, over budget at [$135 million](http://secondavenuesagas.com/2012/03/27/photo-at-bleecker-st-an-aligned-uptown-6/), will move Bleecker Street's uptown 6 platform 300 feet south, connect the IND to the uptown IRT and provide full ADA accessibility with five elevators and a new escalator. The MTA started designs in 2002 and construction in 2008. Subway forums have been abuzz over when their commutes will finally be streamlined. The MTA installed, covered and uncovered signs since March and [unveiled digital artwork](http://manhattan.ny1.com/content/top_stories/165243/mta-unveils-digital-art-at-bleecker-street-station) in the platform in July. The piece cost less than one percent of construction and has been generating more excitement for the new platform. The project budget notes 90 percent completion, [citing delays](http://www.mta.info/capitaldashboard/05_09/agencies/t/t5041402_all_data.htm) to unforeseen construction difficulties: "Project completion was delayed due to various utility interferences at Houston Street affecting the restoration work and the installation of the elevator. Procurement and installing the street elevator roof as well as procuring glass for elevator enclosures for two other elevators were also delayed." Reconstruction of control areas, buried utilities, a tunnel wall, a central staircase, a roof and a tunnel duct manhole are all involved. Workers are also excavating by a six-story building and are needing to strengthen foundations. A major expense, though, has been relocating a water main at Houston Street . The new platform, designed by Weidlinger Associates and Lee Harris Pomeroy Architects, will offer access to Crosby, Houston and Mulberry Streets.