Bollard Installation at Atlantic Terminal Races to Completion

The project to install smaller, more aesthetically pleasing metal bollards in front of Atlantic Terminal will be completed by the time Jay-Z takes the stage for his first concert at Barclays Center, according to the Metropolitan Transit Authority.

But just barely.

An MTA spokesman confirmed that work outside the critical transportation hub would be complete at noon Friday—only hours before Jay-Z's scheduled 8 p.m. start time.

In the transit agency's defense, work to complete the project has seemed anything but easy.

First, workers had to smash and then haul away the large concrete "sarcophagi" that once sat in front of the station, which is home to nine subway lines and Long Island Rail Road. 

Then came the arduous task of ripping out the sidewalk and surrounding roadbed to install dozens of shiny new bollards anchored deep into the ground.

Despite the challenges, the MTA spokesman said Jay-Z fans would be able to move freely in front of the terminal by show time.

"...It is expected that the fences at the LIRR’s entry pavilion will all be removed and the sidewalk opened by noon that day," he wrote.

Right now, commuters and shoppers coming from the LIRR portion of the station must navigate a maze of barriers. A new subway entrance across the street, which opened last week, is not directly accessible to LIRR travelers.

"This should have been done months ago," said straphanger Thomas Miller at the station Monday. "Why does everything have to be last minute?"