NEW YORK (PIX11) -- Millions of commuters take the trains every day. But trips can get stopped in their tracks when escalators or elevators aren’t operating.
The MTA has revamped the process for maintenance and repair. More projects are done as a “design-build,” some parts are stockpiled, and there’s an urgency to get work done.
Jamie Torres-Springer is president of MTA Construction and Development.
“They get a lot of wear and tear and we also take them out for preventive maintenance. What we’ve done is an efficient approach and bundled projects together,” Torres-Springer said.
The newest escalator is at Bowling Green in Lower Manhattan. The replacement project was scheduled to take eight months. Forte Construction is currently working on dozens of elevator and escalator projects.
Abhinav Reddy is Project Manager with Forte.
“The coordination is key. We had six project managers, subcontractors and laborers working on the job,” Reddy said.
MTA updates the current status of on its website. Projects can take more than six months due to conditions and factors at the sites.
The Bowling Green elevator was originally installed in the early 1990s. The contractor says additional steel work was needed when the mechanisms were removed.
Several escalators at Grand Central Madison, which opened in January, are not running. Crews are doing maintenance and there are others nearby. New equipment is usually under warranty.
Accessibility is one of the main focuses as the agency plans to build more than 60 elevators in the next few years and promises more.
He said elevator and escalator availability has hit a record with a 90% operational average.
There are more than 280 escalators and 300 elevators in the system. About 15% are maintained by private landlords.
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