MTA - PSA Newsletter 15 (February 2026)

 

Welcome to the Penn Station Access quarterly newsletter. MTA’s Penn Station Access Project will bolster equity, regional connectivity, and reliability by upgrading Amtrak’s existing Hell Gate Line and providing four new accessible Metro North stations in the East Bronx with service to New York Penn Station. For past newsletter issues, click here. For updates on specific areas along the project corridor where work will take place, sign up here. See the latest MTA project schedule announcement here.

Para obtener más información sobre los hitos recientes del proyecto y el trabajo próximo, haga clic aqui.

Cable pulling at Parkchester Van-Nest Substation, January 2026 

PSA Progress: A Year in Review

The Penn Station Access Project enters 2026 with strong momentum following a productive year of construction in 2025. Thousands of feet of new track and drainage systems were built, overhead catenary system (OCS) and signal power work continued to advance, all underground utilities for the new Co-op City substation were installed, and all site work associated with the new signal infrastructure at both Bronx and Gate Interlockings was completed.

In January, the project entered a critical construction phase to replace the Pelham Lane Bridge. The project was granted extended track outages which restrict trains to a single track allowing crews to safely work on an interlocking between two adjacent interlockings. After the track outage began, two of the three existing bridge spans were demolished one track at a time, then cranes were used to lift the new pre-cast bridge sections into place on top of the foundations and columns, and finally crews reconstructed the tracks above. The new bridge structure is designed to be more resilient, by using durable materials that can withstand increased train traffic.

Cast-in-place substructure and precast superstructure for new Pelham Lane Bridge, January 2026

Upcoming Activities

Construction will continue at all four PSA stations throughout spring 2026.

Parkchester Van-Nest: With the headhouse structure in place, welding of the entrance structure completed, and about 75% of the main entrance area walls formed, the next phase of work will focus on installing utilities, drilling for the elevator piston well, setting metal deck, and installing the roofing and curtain wall. The installation of the center-island platform and Unionport Road entrance foundations are also set to begin this spring.

Hunts Point: Work on the north entrance plaza foundations and utility work is scheduled to be completed in the spring.

Morris Park: Crews will soon begin the south entrance steel erection, with large cranes hoisting steel beams into place. At the north entrance sanitary and storm piping will be wrapped up in early spring, and elevator pit construction and steel erection will begin after catenary structure demolition in the area.

Co-op City: Steel erection at the east and west entrances will commence after completion of overhead signal cable relocation, which includes installation of a new cable, cable trough, and removal of the existing cable. This work started in late January is anticipated to be completed by late spring.

Laying tracks near Parkchester Van-Nest, January 2026 Carol Wynperle, Project Director Meet the Team: Carol Wynperle Carol brings 27 years of experience in the construction industry to her current role as Project Director for WSP on the Penn Station Access project. Carol is responsible for managing contract delivery and building consensus among various project agencies and stakeholders. Her experience includes leading some of New York’s most significant, multi-phase infrastructure projects including the MTA Park Avenue Viaduct Replacement project, the NYSDOT Kosciuszko Bridge Replacement project, and the preliminary design of LaGuardia AirTrain. Since joining the PSA project team last year, Carol has led the charge to move the project forward efficiently and she is thrilled to see how much the team accomplished in 2025. She is excited to see the upcoming completion of Pelham Lane Bridge and Bronx Interlocking, which are major milestones for the project. When Carol has a moment to relax, you can find her on the water; she is an avid sailor and rower and loves to spend time enjoying the outdoors. PSA Outreach Team and model bridges at steMTA event with PS 160, February 2026 Community Corner: steMTA Events To close out 2025, we visited Bronx Community Board 2 on November 12th, Bronx Community Board 9 on December 4th, and the BWCC convened on December 2nd for a project update. We started the new year off with a presentation on January 5th to a joint meeting of Bronx Community Board 11 Parks, Recreation, Sanitation & Environmental Protection and Transportation Committees and on February 11th we visited Community Board 10 to discuss project progress. On February 13th, we explored how STEM concepts can come to life through hands-on bridge building activities with 4th and 5th graders at PS 160 in Co-op City. We are looking forward to more events this spring!  Contact Us Web: mta.info/project/penn-station-access Email: PSAOutreach@mtacd.org | Hotline: 347-263-7837