NOHO — A day before the brand-new tunnel connecting the Bleecker Street and Broadway-Lafayette subway stations were scheduled to be opened to the public, DNAinfo got a sneak peek inside.
The eagerly-awaited upgrades — which will slash commute times between the Broadway-Lafayette station's B, D, F, M and downtown 6 train and the Bleecker Street station's uptown 6 train station — will mean riders no longer have to go above ground to transfer from the trains from Brooklyn to the uptown Lexington line.
Subway riders previously had to re-swipe their MetroCards, incurring additional charges if they did not have Unlimited cards.
Lower East Side resident Mary Leary, 29, said she uses the station every day and can't wait for the changes.
"It will be a lot better than having to go up and then down again," she said.
The connection will officially open at noon Tuesday, according to signs posted in the stations, where new escalators and elevators were blocked off Monday. A new light display also went into the Bleecker Street Station in July.
Salesman Paul Bove said he thought the connection was long overdue.
"It's about time," he said. "It's the convenience of it that matters, plus the money."
Downtown Brooklyn resident Gerald Farmer, 52, said he was looking forward to having fewer flights of stairs to navigate because of the new connection.
"It's pretty cool. It beats coming up and down these long, long stairs."
Maine resident Cecilia Ackerman, 25, said the accessibility upgrades — which include the installation of five handicap-accessible elevators — would benefit an 82-year-old member of her extended family, who uses the station almost daily.
"He takes the subway all the time and this will be so much easier for him."
SoHo and NoHo locals told DNAinfo.com New York earlier this year that construction of the station snarled traffic since it began in July 2008, creating dangers for pedestrians, bikers and drivers.
