The MTA is still putting the finishing touches on its Grand Central Madison terminal 18 months after it first opened for Long Island Rail Road commuters, following years of construction delays.
The agency issued a notice last week seeking contractors to complete “miscellaneous remaining work” on the 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.
The work also includes the “provisions for the utilities for the retail spaces” in the underground station, which have remained empty since it opened. The MTA has been pushing businesses to lease one of its 32 storefronts in the terminal, and earlier this year said one would be leased out to Tracks Raw Bar and Grill with an opening date scheduled for the fall.
MTA spokesperson Joana Flores said the MTA has delivered by ensuring Grand Central Madison’s doors are opened.
“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,” Flores said in a statement.
Flores 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.
The MTA has touted the station as the safest in the city.
The latest work at the station is expected to cost between $10 million and $50 million, according to MTA documents. It’s the latest chapter in the MTA’s decades-long saga to complete its East Side Access project, which ran billions over budget and more than 10 years behind schedule.
The MTA first began planning the project in 1997, with the goal of bringing LIRR service to Manhattan’s East Side through a brand new station set 15 stories beneath Grand Central Terminal. When it was planned in the late 1990s, the MTA expected the project to cost $2.8 billion to complete. Federal records show the final price tag was upwards of $11 billion.
The terminal finally opened in January 2023, after it faced another series of last-minute delays MTA officials said were related to air circulation problems.
Documents show the latest round of “miscellaneous work” should take 13 months to complete once the MTA hires a contractor.