Grand Central Madison station is looking like the eternal work in progress.
The MTA is still working to put the finishing touches on it 18 months after it first opened, and more than 25 years after the agency first began planning the project in 1997. But these touches aren’t only cosmetic, they include the fire alarm system.
Last week, the MTA issued a notice seeking contractors to complete “miscellaneous remaining work” on the Long Island Rail Road terminal, including the “installation and modification of the fire alarm system elements, modifications of doors and access control devices” and adding security cameras in the space, Gothamist reported.
This marks the latest stage in the agency’s decades-long process to complete this project designed to provide LIRR access on the East Side of Manhattan, which is reportedly more than 10 years behind schedule. The station was officially opened in January 2023, after it faced another series of last-minute delays that were related to air circulation problems, MTA officials reported.
The latest work at the station is expected to cost between $10 million and $50 million, and is expected to take 13 months to complete once the agency finds a contractor, according to MTA documents.
When the agency first began planning construction of the project located 15 stories beneath Grand Central Terminal in the late 1990s, it expected the terminal to cost $2.8 billion to complete. According to federal records, the final cost was upwards of $11 billion.
The newest work also includes “provisions for the utilities for the retails spaces” in the underground station, which have remained empty since the terminal first opened. Earlier this year, the agency said one would be leased out to Tracks Raw Bar and Grill with an opening date set for the fall.
“The MTA did, as promised, open Grand Central Madison at the start of 2023 after years, and even decades, of efforts to start Long Island Rail Road service to the East Side had been postponed,” MTA spokesperson Joana Flores said in a statement to Gothamist. She also referred to comments made by MTA Chair Janno Lieber at a press conference for the first anniversary of the Grand Central Madison’s opening.
“This is a fully operational facility with all the relevant permits and systems in operation. If somewhere there is a dent in some of the cladding that needs to be fixed l’m sure we’ll get to it,” Lieber said in January.
According to the MTA, Grand Central Madison remains one of the safest stations in the city.
