L train shutdown will be 15 months instead of 18 months
Finally, there’s some good news for the nearly 225,000 daily L train riders commuting to Manhattan. This weekend the Metropolitan Transit Authority announced that the Canarsie tube, which carries the L train between Manhattan and Brooklyn, will be closed for 15 months instead of 18, three months ahead of schedule. As reported by the Daily News, the MTA plans to begin rehabilitating the tunnel in April of 2019.
Hurricane Sandy heavily damaged the Canarsie Tunnel with flooding from the coasts. According to the MTA, Canarsie, which was one of nine underwater tunnels that flooded, was filled with 7 million gallons of saltwater. To ensure the integrity of the tunnel remains and for the safety of riders, the tunnel requires a full reconstruction.
Next week, the MTA board will vote on awarding a $492 million contract, which includes a $15 million incentive to finish faster, to two firms, Judlau Contracting and TC Electric. Judlau has experience repairing tunnels damaged by Hurricane Sandy–the firm worked on the Montague tube, the Steinway tunnel and the 53rd street tunnel. Overall, the project includes station improvements at the First Avenue and Bedford Avenue stops and reconstructing more than 11 miles of tunnel duct banks and over two miles of track.
The shutdown means the L train only runs in Brooklyn up to Bedford Avenue, which also means there will be no service in Manhattan or running between the boroughs. As 6sqft previously reported, elected officials have pushed for additional and alternative travel options in response to the possible impact on local businesses or a drop in real estate values. These options would include improving the G, J and M lines, offering shuttle buses over the Williamsburg Bridge, closing 14th Street to cars, adding bike lanes, or constructing the proposed East River Skyway.
[Via NY Daily News]
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