MTA Board officially approves 15-month shutdown of L train
It’s official. The Metropolitan Transit Authority board voted to approve a 15-month shutdown of the L train on Monday, instead of the originally proposed 18 months. The Board also awarded a $477 million contract to Judlau Contracting and TC Electric, who will responsible for repairing the train’s Canarsie Tunnel, which suffered severe flooding damage after Hurricane Sandy (h/t WSJ). The planned shutdown is set to begin in April 2019 and cuts all L train service between Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg and Eighth Avenue in Manhattan.
Repairs include reconstructing the 60,000 feet of duct banks and 14,400 feet of track and track bed of the Canarsie Tunnel. Plus, lighting and fire systems will be installed, as well as improving the overall quality of the 1st Avenue and Bedford Avenue stations. If the contractors finish the work within the 15-month deadline, they receive the full amount of the contract. If even a day late, the firms must pay the MTA $410,000 each. Judlau previously worked on repairing the R train’s Montague Tunnel, which they finished both early and under budget. However, the contracting firm ran into issues when working on the Second Avenue subway at the 72nd Street station, like not installing police radios and other equipment, although they ultimately completed project on time.
While the MTA plans on increasing service on the G and J train lines for the nearly 225,000 daily L train riders, officials have yet to release a plan for an adequate alternative. As 6sqft previously wrote, elected officials have pushed for improving and increasing service on the G, J and M lines, offering shuttle buses over the Williamsburg Bridge, closing 14th Street to cars, adding bike lanes, or even constructing the proposed East River Skyway.
[Via WSJ]
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