Grand Central Terminal construction nears end – NBC New York

A quarter-billion-dollar project to make it easier on subway riders at busy Grand Central is now in the home stretch.

Finally.

"Customers are more comfortable getting to their trains quicker and getting off the platform quicker," said Matthew Zettwoch, Vice President of Construction and Development at the MTA.

Zettwoch acknowledges riders have had to navigate narrow platforms and constant construction over the past eight months.

But he says the $250 million project to add 11 new stairwells and eight new escalators, while adding flood-proofing, new lighting and closed circuit cameras, will make for a better experience at the crowded subway hub beneath the iconic train terminal.

"What we are doing now to improve the circulation to get people down to the platform and off it quicker — is tremendous," said Zettwoch.

Riders have gotten used to cramped construction stairwells and getting told to keep moving by transit workers. With the project only months away from being done — Monty Conley of midtown said, "That's music to my ears."

Another rider, Keith Ruiz, added, "Hey at least they're going ahead and doing the construction people have complained about for years right?"