170th Street station (IRT Jerome Avenue Line)

The Dual Contracts, which were signed on March 19, 1913, were contracts for the construction and/or rehabilitation and operation of rapid transit lines in the City of New York. The contracts were "dual" in that they were signed between the City and two separate private companies (the Interborough Rapid Transit Company and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company), all working together to make the construction of the Dual Contracts possible. The Dual Contracts promised the construction of several lines in the Bronx. As part of Contract 3, the IRT agreed to build an elevated line along Jerome Avenue in the Bronx.[5][6][7]

170th Street station opened as part of the initial section of the line to Kingsbridge Road on June 2, 1917. Service was initially operated as a shuttle between Kingsbridge Road and 149th Street.[8][9] Through service to the IRT Lexington Avenue Line began on July 17, 1918.[10] The line was completed with a final extension to Woodlawn on April 15, 1918.[11] This section was initially served by shuttle service, with passengers transferring at 167th Street.[12][13] The construction of the line encouraged development along Jerome Avenue, and led to the growth of the surrounding communities.[8]

On July 5, 2004, this station, 176th Street, and Fordham Road closed for four months so they could be renovated. As part of the project, new canopy roofs, walls, lighting, staircases, floors, and a public address system would be installed at each station.[14]

As part of the 2015–2019 Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Capital Program, elevators are being between the platforms and street, which would make the station fully compliant with accessibility guidelines under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.[15] Construction began in July 2020[16][17] and is expected to be completed by January 2022.[18]

The station's main entrance/exit is an elevated station house beneath the tracks. Inside the fare control area, it has two staircases to each platform at the center and a waiting area that allows a free transfer between directions. Outside fare control, it has a turnstile bank, a token booth, and three street stairs going down to either side of Jerome Avenue between 170th Street and Elliot Place, two to the east side and one to the west.[22] Each platform has a secondary fare control area leading to either northern corner of 170th Street and Jerome Avenue, with one staircase from the southbound platform going to the northwestern corner (it had since recently opened) and the other from the northbound platform going to the northeastern corner (still under construction).