Cuomo: L Train Work Three Months Ahead of Schedule
The L train rehabilitation project is three months ahead of schedule, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and MTA officials announced on Sunday.
The MTA now expects to complete the entire project in April 2020, Cuomo said in a release.
Earlier this year, the MTA began rehabbing the Hurricane Sandy-damaged Canarsie Tunnels — a project that was anticipated to take until the summer of 2020 to finish.
"This project will ultimately be a case study for how the MTA needs to operate going forward, especially as they implement the upcoming historic capital plan that will completely modernize the entire system and deliver the 21st century transportation service worthy of New York," Cuomo said in a statement.
The massive undertaking on one of the subway system's busiest lines was initially going to require an extended shutdown, cutting off large swaths of northern Brooklyn from Manhattan.
But thanks to an eleventh-hour intervention from Cuomo and a team of transit experts earlier this year, the work is expected to be completed without halting trains entirely.
Now, only one tunnel will be closed at a time, and work to replace cabling and utilities that were damaged when the tubes were waterlogged during the 2012 storm will be completed on nights and weekends.
Under the plan, trains would keep up 24-hour service, just at reduced intervals. On nights and weekends, the L train runs with 15-20 minute headways, which is no different from the current overnight service.
To be sure, trips will be altered, and many riders who rely on the L will have to make adjustments.
MTA Chief Development Officer Janno Lieber has said there will also be a handful of weekends in October and November where there will be no L train service at night at the Eighth Avenue and Sixth Avenue stops in Manhattan. That interruption is due to working being done on the elevators at those stations.
The MTA has created a full guide with specific information on trips from several affected L train stops. Visit the agency's website to see it now.
from NBC New York - Top Stories https://ift.tt/2onuMZB
No comments: