NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority received good news about its L Train tunnel habilitation at Monday’s Subway and Bus Committee Meeting: the project is on schedule and, said New York City Transit Authority President Andy Byford, “actually ahead of schedule on some items.”
That was according to consultant Wayne Faulkner of JMT Engineering, which was retained by the MTA board to monitor construction and service during the project. Faulkner said construction work is a month ahead of schedule in key areas; that, after overnight and weekend construction, subway service is generally back to normal ahead of schedule; and that dust and silica levels recorded at stations remain at tolerable levels.
At one time, work on the L Train’s East River tunnel was projected to cause a complete halt in service for 15 to 20 months, but a revised plan calls for a shorter reconstruction period with reduced night and weekend service, rather than a total shutdown. [See “New York’s L Train construction project to begin April 26,” Trains News Wire, April 16, 2019.]
Major demolition work on the East River tunnel is anticipated for completion by July 1. Almost 7,000 feet of abandoned utility lines contained in concrete walls will have been removed by work train, and taken to a nearby MTA Brooklyn subway yard for disposal. The New York Daily News has reported the project may be complete as early as April 2020.
