PELHAM BAY — The commute is about to get a little trickier for 6 train riders in The Bronx.
Starting on Saturday, July 5, The Bronx's Zerega Avenue and Buhre Avenue 6 train stations, two stations close to the end of the line Pelham Bay Park stop, will close for renovations in both directions until February 2015, according to the MTA.
Repairs include installing pigeon deterrent systems and artwork, painting the stations, putting in new platform edges, and fixing the street and platform stairs, officials said.
Westchester Square-East Tremont Avenue and Middletown Road, the two stations between Zerega and Buhre Avenues, will remain open.
Travelers in need of access to the bypassed stations can use the Bx4, Bx8 and Bx24 bus routes along Westchester Avenue — the same route as the train — using a free transfer. Customers traveling south from Zerega Avenue can also use the Bx4 bus to reach the Castle Hill Avenue station on the 6 line, officials said.
There will also be supplemental bus service between the 6 line's Castle Hill Avenue, Westchester Square-East Tremont Avenue, Middletown Road and Buhre Avenue stations to account for an expected increase in riders on the Bx4, Bx8 and Bx24 buses between 6 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 7 p.m. rush hours, the MTA said.
Because the Bx4, Bx8 and Bx24 lines do not operate late at night, a free overnight bus service will run between the four stations roughly every 20 minutes from 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m., officials said.
The renovations are part of an ongoing, $109 million renewal project for five stations on the 6 train: Castle Hill Avenue, Zerega Avenue, Middletown Road, Buhre Avenue and Pelham Bay Park. Work is already done on the Castle Hill and Middletown stops.
The Pelham Bay Park station on the 6 line will undergo renovations from July to February as well, but it will not shut down, as the repairs, which include painting the mezzanine and replacing warning strips at the edges of platforms, will not be as intensive.
"We actually have to keep it open because it’s the terminus for the train," said MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz, "so we have to do the work around being able to move trains from that station."
