Project will deliver faster, safer and easier commutes for more than 25,000 daily bus riders
Bx6 Select Bus Service at East 161st Street and Sherman Avenue
New York City Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani, New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Mike Flynn and Department of Design and Construction (DDC) Acting Commissioner Eduardo del Valle today announced the start of a major project to improve Bronx crosstown bus service and street safety near Yankee Stadium.
The project will add westbound bus-only lanes, including converting the 161st Street underpass to buses only. The redesign also includes pedestrian safety upgrades and new amenities for bus riders — such as bus shelters, benches and leaning bars, along with pedestrian refuges and infrastructure to make boarding buses safer and more accessible.
With baseball’s Opening Day later this week, the project will speed up bus service and improve safety around Yankee Stadium, which sees more than three million visitors each year. The corridor serves 25,000 daily riders on the Bx6 Select Bus Service (SBS) line.
“Unfortunately, as the Mayor of New York City, I must deliver fast and reliable buses for Yankees fans as well,” said Mayor Mamdani. “I can think of no better way to welcome the start of baseball season than by breaking ground on a project that will make commutes faster, streets safer and daily life a little easier for tens of thousands of New Yorkers every day.”
“Improving the bus-rider and pedestrian experiences for those who visit or live in the South Bronx is a home run for all New Yorkers,” said NYC DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn. “From Fordham Road to Yankee Stadium, this administration is doubling down to deliver better buses and safer streets.”
“This project will help link some of the busiest areas of Manhattan and the Bronx with a fast and safe bus route and access to vital civic resources, moving closer to the administration’s goal of a great bus network for every neighborhood,” said NYC DDC Acting Commissioner Eduardo del Valle. “DDC is phasing the construction so as to not interfere with baseball season but we are hard at work in other areas so that we can meet the 2028 completion date.”
“We are pleased that the City is moving forward with the long-planned effort to make 161st Street more bus friendly,” said MTA New York City Transit Executive Vice President of Buses Frank Farrell. “It’s good news for South Bronx bus riders, and we look forward to celebrating even more improvements throughout the five boroughs because nothing makes buses faster than clear streets.”
The project will reconstruct and redesign East 161st Street from Ruppert Place to Morris Avenue, including portions of East 163rd Street between Washington Avenue and Tiffany Street, as well as segments of the Bx6-SBS route in Manhattan.
As part of the redesign, the City will create a fully protected, center-running bus lane along East 161st Street from Concourse Village West to just west of River Avenue — one of the only corridors of its kind in New York City. Construction has already begun on East 163rd Street between Intervale Avenue and Tiffany Street.
Map of the Bx6 bus route
Better Bus Service
The project will upgrade the existing eastbound bus tunnel under the Grand Concourse to bus-only use in both directions. Currently, the tunnel is restricted to eastbound buses. To complement this change, three blocks of westbound 161st Street on either side of the tunnel will also be converted to bus-only, easing congestion at key bottlenecks.
The City will install full-length concrete boarding islands along center-running bus lanes to improve safety, shorten pedestrian crossing distances and prevent vehicles from blocking bus lanes. Additional improvements include sidewalk extensions, known as bus bulbs, at bus stops along the Bx6 route to speed up boarding and create space for seating and bus shelters.
Improved Pedestrian Safety
Curb extensions, medians and pedestrian refuge islands will shorten crossing distances and improve visibility. Existing painted safety features will be upgraded to concrete and extend the sidewalk out to new curblines.
Pedestrian refuge islands have been shown to reduce deaths and serious injuries by 35.5%, while curb and sidewalk extensions reduce them by 34.1%. The City will also rebuild, expand and landscape medians at East 161st Street and River Avenue, just outside of Yankee Stadium.
Infrastructure Improvements
The project includes 370 ADA-compliant pedestrian ramps, 57 new trees and approximately 8,000 plantings of grass and perennials. More than 100 new street lighting and traffic signal poles will be installed, and 16 fire hydrants will be upgraded.
Crews will reconstruct about 45,000 square yards of roadway and upgrade or add more than 180,000 square feet of sidewalk. Below ground, more than 4,500 feet of water mains and sewers will be upgraded, and additional catch basins will be added to improve drainage.
The project follows extensive community engagement and has support from local community boards. Construction is expected to continue through 2028.
City agencies have developed a traffic mitigation plan to minimize traffic disruptions during Yankees games.
