The Park Avenue Viaduct is a 1.25-mile-long elevated steel structure built in 1893, which carries four Metro-North Railroad tracks above Park Avenue in East Harlem. The viaduct is a vital artery carrying riders to and from Grand Central Terminal and Harlem-125th Street station, and is used by 750 trains and 220,000 customers each weekday. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Park Avenue Viaduct Replacement project focuses on replacing major segments on the Park Avenue Viaduct between East 115th Street and East 1234d Street along Park Avenue, bringing the viaduct into a state of good repair.

Melissa Johnson Associates is managing public outreach on behalf of MTA and the design-build team. The project’s public outreach manager works closely with the local community, including many small storefronts, local businesses, and residents along Park Avenue, as well as MTA customers and commuters, to communicate project-related changes and impacts. MJA coordinates closely with the MTA and PM consultant to ensure that outreach to the public is inclusive of all stakeholders, and to create interesting collaborations with the local East Harlem community, including STEM educational opportunities. MJA’s team is responsible for on-site outreach, project updates for the general public, digital and print project materials, and other outreach designed to support a transparent, community-oriented transit infrastructure project.