MTA finally opening new transfer to uptown No. 6 at Bleecker St

Straphangers will finally be able to transfer to uptown No. 6 trains at Bleecker Street without having to pay a second fare and schlepping a couple blocks away starting Tuesday.

After more than four years of construction, riders will be able to get from B/D/F/M trains at Broadway-Lafayette Street to northbound trains traveling along Lexington Avenue, MTA officials said Monday. Only a downtown transfer had been available previously; riders wanting to go uptown had to leave the station, walk outside to another entrance and swipe their MetroCard again.

The transfer wasn't originally possible because of an unusual design at the station. The No. 6 northbound and southbound tracks don't line up directly across from each other -- they're about a block apart -- and the Broadway-Lafayette Street station was built on a curve.

"There has been no documentation outlining why these stations were built in this manner," MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz said.

The improvements at the complex, which include fixing up the Bleecker Street station and adding five elevators, were supposed to be finished last November.

The MTA expects about 30,000 people to benefit from the upgrades each weekday.

Last year, more than 11.6 million riders used the Broadway-Lafayette/Bleecker Street station, making it the system's 24th busiest station.