The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced that it has awarded $7.5 million in contracts for preliminary engineering work at two stations at Willets Point, Queens. The preliminary engineering work, which is expected to be completed within a year, will pave the way for major enhancements at both stations, and prepare the MTA to collaborate with the Port Authority as planning for the AirTrain at LaGuardia moves forward.

The first contract is valued at $4.6 million and is for work at the Long Island Rail Road’s Mets-Willets Point Station. It has been awarded to STV, Inc. The second contract is valued at $2.9 million and deals with the Willets Point Station for New York City Transit’s No. 7 train station. It has been awarded to HDR Architecture and Engineering, PC.

"The preliminary engineering work we’re doing at the two Willets Point stations is the first step in a plan to dramatically enhance both stations,” commented MTA Chairman and CEO Thomas F. Prendergast. “It will also enable us to be ready to work with the Port Authority as planning for the LaGuardia AirTrain moves forward, which we see as critically important.”

The scope of the preliminary work will include plans for lengthening the LIRR station’s platform to accommodate 12-car-long trains for greater service capacity, as well as Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility.

For the modernized subway station, which is served by the 7 line, the preliminary engineering work will pave the way for newly designed mezzanines with state of the art electronics and communications, full ADA-compliant accessibility, and improved passenger flow for both events and normal service.