No L Service Btw Man & BK For Years?

This is the very realistic question being wondered by many riders as the MTA is still feeling the wrath of Hurricane Sandy in terms of system conditions.

Much like the R Train train’s Montauge Tube, the L Train train’s Canarsie Tube was damaged by saltwater flooding. At first estimates, it would take nearly 3 years to complete the work.

Here is more via a story by Christopher Robbins in Gothamist:

Governor Cuomo’s announcement last week that 30 subway stations would be completely closed for months at a time in order to properly “revamp” them was greeted with groans by riders. But a disruption of epic proportions potentially looms for New Yorkers who rely on the L train to get in and out of Manhattan.

Like the R train’s Montague Tube, the L train’s Canarsie Tube was flooded with saltwater and severely damaged during Hurricane Sandy. The Montague Tube was shut down and repaired in 13 months—one month and $58 million under budget—while riders found other ways to get to work.

The project to repair the Canarsie Tube is projected to take three years, and the MTA is considering shutting down service between Manhattan and Brooklyn entirely to get it done, according to MTA sources familiar with the initiative. In this scenario, Manhattan-bound L service would terminate at Bedford Avenue, the line’s busiest station.

More than 300,000 New Yorkers ride the L train on an average weekday. When the Montague Tube was damaged by Hurricane Sandy it had 65,000 daily riders.

Another option being weighed is to keep one of the two tunnels open while repairing the other—there are separate Manhattan-bound and Brooklyn-bound tunnels—leaving room for limited service.

“If one tunnel is down, how bad will the L train be in the mornings just going one way?” one source says. “It’ll be packed beyond belief. It’ll be a fight. Is that the smartest way to do it if it’s going to be the difference of a year? I don’t know.”

Click here for the complete report.

If the MTA goes the full suspension route, I know many riders & elected officials will jump down the throat of the agency & how it is screwing people over, etc… but the repairs need to be made. Yes, it will be tough to deal with & a major inconvenience but that is how it has to be sometimes.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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