This station suffered circulation
problems compounded by extremely high pedestrian volume and transfer
traffic between the IRT and IND
lines. The original station complex accommodated the transfer traffic
with one pair of escalators and a 65 foot high staircase. Bottlenecking
created a dangerous condition.
Urbahn’s solution was to create a new transfer passageway
connecting the Lexington and 3rd Avenue mezzanines and place major
excavation directly below 53rd Street. To minimize disruptions, the
excavation was carefully staged and phased, with much of the work done
at night
and weekends. Another design constraint was existing major utilities
that had to be modified and rerouted without disrupting services. Several
shafts from the mezzanine to the platform were constructed through
solid rock - our design employed mining technology for their excavation.
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