Bronx subway riders using a number of stations along the IRT No. 6 line can expect to see them closed, with two of them shut starting Monday for major renovations.
To help riders cope, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is offering free transfers to a local bus route to get to the next open station.
The Morrison Ave.-Soundview and Whitlock Ave. stations were slated to be the first to be closed Monday morning, with renovations expected to last until mid-September.
Subway riders who use the closed stations can use the Bx4 bus running along Westchester Ave. below the elevated tracks for free to the next closest subway stations - the nearby Elder Ave. stop between the two closed subway stations, or to the Simpson St. station on the IRT No. 2 and 5 lines.
But that's only a part of what the MTA has in store over the next year or so.
Also slated for renovations are the busy Parkchester station, the St. Lawrence Ave. and Elder Ave. stops on the 6 line.
Construction on the Parkchester station will begin in late March, while work on the St. Lawrence and Elder Avenue stations will begin in 2011.
"People are complaining, but I understand that the MTA is making all the necessary arrangements to have free shuttle buses for folks using that line," said Francisco Gonzalez, district manager of local Community Board 9.
MTA officials will be on hand at the community board office at 1967 Turnbull Ave. on Wednesday at 7 p.m. to make a presentation on the closures.
"At that time, the residents can present any concerns they have and get some answers," Gonzalez said.
"The MTA is trying to be as accommodating as possible for our people."
The MTA said the station renovations will include a number of upgrades that will include:
• Installing new canopies over the stairways and platforms.
• Repairing the stairs and railings between the street and platform.
• Refurbishing the platform floors.
• Installing new lighting.
• Installing high-quality public address systems.
• Making major structural repairs to the platforms, columns and track areas
