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Jamie Torres-Springer, president of MTA Construction & Development.Photo by Paul Frangipane<\/p>\nMTA Construction and Development President Jamie Torres-Springer said a major undertaking to replace the station\u2019s over a century-old steel girders supporting the tracks and platforms with new ones should be finished by May 2027. He said the work is necessary to ensure the deteriorating structure is able to continue standing for decades to come.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe elevated 7\u00a0line,\u00a0it\u2019s got a lot of challenges from being really old, and so it\u2019s meant that we need to do platform replacement,\u201d Torres-Springer said of the project. \u201cWhen we do that, we find that the steel, the big girders, all of the\u00a0major units that are holding up the station and the platform are in severe disrepair. So in order to make sure that the line stays standing, we are not avoiding that work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jamie Torres-Springer, president of MTA Construction & Development.Photo by Paul Frangipane<\/p>\n
The May 2027 date marks a two-year delay from when the project was initially slated to be finished in May 2025 \u2014 a change the agency said was necessary due to its discovery of major structural issues at the station that it did not anticipate.<\/p>\n
The additional girder replacements also drove the project\u2019s price tag up by nearly $30 million \u2014 increasing from $315 million to $343 million, amNewYork previously reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u00a0situation where steel girders are found to be in poor condition\u2026[is] so incredibly complex, which meant that it had taken longer to get it done than we initially anticipated,\u201d Torres-Springer said in an interview.<\/p>\n \u201cThese steel members deteriorate over time because they\u2019re exposed to the elements, to salt, which causes corrosion,\u201d he added. \u201cSteel rusts and corrodes, and if you don\u2019t take good care of it and make sure that you address the defects,\u00a0there\u2019s real potential for danger.\u201d<\/p>\n Progress on the 7 line<\/p>\n The MTA will be restoring Flushing-bound service at the station, which it had to suspend to conduct the work, once construction is complete, Torres-Springer said. He added that Flushing-bound 7 trains are also on pace to begin stopping at the 52 St and 69 St stations, which they are also currently bypassing, once again come next May.<\/p>\n Torres-Springer said the agency already completed work on the Manhattan-bound side of the 61 St-Woodside station in May as well as at the other two and that \u201cnow we are on track to complete that Flushing-bound work by May of next year.\u201d<\/p>\n The MTA is overhauling all three stations as part of a broader effort to modernize nine stops up and down the 7 line, which runs through several dense Queens neighborhoods such as Sunnyside, Woodside, Jackson Heights, and Corona.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a very big, comprehensive state of good repair investment that we\u2019re making on the 7 train at nine stations at once,\u201d Torres-Springer said of the broader project. He also noted that the effort includes accessibility upgrades to bring the stations into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which includes the installation of elevators at at least three of them.<\/p>\n In addition to the structural and accessibility work, the undertaking aims to improve the rider experience along much of the Flushing line, Torres-Springer said. It comes after the MTA improved 7 train service by making it one of the first lines to get modernized Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) signals.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a major effort to have the customer experience, meaning what it\u2019s like at each of these stations and the accessibility of the stations, catch up to the reliable, safe, and frequent ride that people are getting on the 7 train after the introduction of Communications Based Train Control,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Work at another station on the line \u2014 103 St-Corona Plaza \u2014 was recently completed with Flushing-bound service resuming<\/a> last week, the MTA said. The restoration ended an over a year period of the 7 bypassing the station.<\/p>\n Similar to 61 St, MTA work crews used the bypasses to replace decaying steel girders upholding the elevated tracks, according to the agency. Construction workers demolished the old platform and replaced the girders underneath with over 40,000 pounds of new steel supports.<\/p>\n They then rebuilt the platform to be ADA-accessible, while also installing new rain canopies, lighting, and communications systems.\n<\/p>\n![\"an](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/7-train-construction.jpeg\" "\\"Top")
Construction inside the Woodside-61st St. station in May 2026.Photo by Gerard Lennon<\/p>\n
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The refurbished platform at the 103 St-Corona Plaza 7 train station.Credit: MTA\/Trent Reeves<\/p>\n