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It’s a long walk down at the 181st Street A train station — at least 75 steps deep underground in Washington Heights.

Three escalators service the station, but one of those escalators has been out of service since late February.

In the event that another one of the other escalators fails, straphangers have to take the long walk up or down. That’s exactly what happened Monday, when a “down” escalator failed.

“For only one to be working is out of this world,” said one subway rider.

“It's frustrating, and when we get out of work and we're tired and we have stuff to carry,” added another.

Those who find moving up the stairs a challenge face frustration if they must use the 181st Street station.

“I was in a boot for a couple of weeks, climbing the stairs is just very difficult,” said an individual.

Riders said escalator woes are the norm. The Metropolitan Transit Authority agrees, saying two escalators are in working condition less than half the time.

“I moved to this neighborhood in 2006, and it's been going on since,” said a straphanger.

The MTA said a crew was able to get the second escalator going again in just half an hour, but residents still wonder when the boxed in escalator will get fixed.

“They have community meetings, I don't know what else we can do,” said one.

“If you're an elderly person, you have to get off at 184th Street to use the elevator there,” said a resident. “You're walking three long blocks to get back to your neighborhood. Let's get it together.”

MTA officials said the problem with the 181st Street escalator is that workers needed to disassemble heavy equipment, one piece weighing up to 2500 pounds, in order to send the escalator out for repair. Then it has to be reinstalled and tested.

That's expected to take another two and a half months. MTA officials said their equipment takes a beating by working 24/7 and performs as well as other transit systems, but the agency added that it's not good enough and that it is working hard to improve its maintenance programs.