L train repairs completed amid COVID-19 disaster
BY MARK HALLUM
Ahead of schedule
and under
budget, the
Canarsie Tunnel linking
the L line between
Brooklyn and Manhattan
became fully operational
again as of
Monday after a yearlong
partial shutdown,
Governor Andrew
Cuomo announced.
But there’s little
pomp and circumstance
to celebrate
the completion of the
project thanks to the
COVID-19 epidemic
that’s caused a catastrophic
90% ridership
loss and reduced
subway service to “essential”
levels just to
keep essential workers
moving.
On April 26, Cuomo
was nonetheless optimistic
about what he
deemed to be an innovative
accomplishment
in unprecedented
times, with not only
opposition to the new
approach to repairing
the tunnel but also
the adjustments forced
on New Yorkers from
COVID-19.
“It was a thunderstorm
of opposition,
but we did it anyway
and we went ahead
with it. We rebuilt the
tunnel and the tunnel
is now better than before
with all these new
techniques, it opens
today,” Cuomo said.
According to the
governor’s office, the
project finished up
$100 million below
budget; it was originally
projected to cost
$920 million.
The governor’s office
said full service
would resume on the
L train starting April
27 under the MTA’s
Essential Service Plan,
which was announced
early on in the pandemic
as a 30% service
decrease on subways
and buses.
“Even in the face
of this unprecedented
global health crisis,
the MTA delivered this
project safely, months
PHOTO : MTA
Completed benchwall
repairs and fiber
optic cabling in
the Canarsie Tunnel
mean service can resume
at full capacity,
though reduced
through coronavirus
measures, starting
April 27.
ahead of schedule,
well under budget and
with no shutdown of
service,” MTA Chair
Pat Foye said. “This
innovative approach is
further proof that the
‘new’ MTA is committed
to doing things differently
to the benefit
of our customers.”
In the days before
the COVID-19 crisis,
New Yorkers saw the
closure of the projected
full closure of the
Canarsie Tunnel with
ominous regard for
the local economies of
Brooklyn.
But in the early
months of 2019, Cuomo
and a team of experts
from Columbia
and Cornell University
intervened with a different
approach to the
Superstorm Sandy-related
repairs.
Instead of closing
the tunnel entirely
for 15 to 18 months,
the bench-walls of the
structure running beneath
the East River
were repaired one tube
at a time, with closures
taking place during
overnights and on
weekends.
THANKS TO THE
H e a l t h c a r e h e r o e s
F i r s t r e s p o n d e r s
Po s t a l w o r k e r s
D e l i v e r y p e o p l e
Bank branches
G r o c e r y w o r k e r s
Remote workers
And so man y o t h e r s a t s u c h g r e a t r i s k .
And a special thanks to our customers and associates.
We look forward to “seeing” you again soon!
CHELSEA: 242 W. 23RD�� �� ������ �� �� �� ���� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� ����
ADDITIONAL OFFICES IN:
FORDHAM (Little Italy)���� �� �� �� �� �� ���� �� �� �� TH�� �� ������ �� �� �� ���� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� ��
LENOX HILL:�� �� �� �� �� �� �� ST������ �� ���� �� �� �� ���� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� ��
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®
WE’LL
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AGAIN.
Schneps Media April 30, 2020 7
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