2 times • JULY 28, 2016 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com Design studio proposes E train extension to alleviate negative effects of the 18-month L train shutdown BY ANTHONY GIUDICE [email protected] @A_GiudiceReport It’s official. The MTA announced Monday that the L train’s Canarsie Tunnel will be closed for 18 months — starting in January 2019 — to repair major damage caused by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. According to the MTA, the decision to fully close the tunnel for 18 months instead of a one-track, threeyear closure was made based on a detailed operational review, and significant community engagement to consider the adverse impacts of the project. “While the MTA always looks to avoid service disruptions, there is no question that repairs to the Canarsie Tunnel are critical and cannot be avoided or delayed,” said Thomas Prendergast, MTA chairman and CEO in a press release. “Throughout this process we have committed to engaging the community and listening to all concerns so that we can address them as we prepare for this necessary work. We are committed to working with the community just as closely as we develop ways to add service to help minimize the impacts of the closure.” The extent of damage to the sevenmile long section of both tubes in the Canarsie Tunnel includes damage to tracks, signals, switches, power and communication cables, signal cables, lighting, cable ducts and bench walls — which must be replaced to protect the structural integrity of the two tubes. The MTA is now looking into fully developing alternative service plans to accommodate riders during the shutdown by including additional capacity on the M, J and G lines. However, one local transportation group has come up with an alternative plan to keep more riders moving through Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan. The members at ReThink Studio, an urban transportation planning firm, believe that continuing E train service along the G line at the Hoyt- Schermerhorn station could help reduce the stress on the other lines while the L train is out of commission. “I think we’re all gritting our teeth about the L train shutdown,” said Jim Venturi, founder and principal designer of ReThink Studio. “It is a shame that as a city we haven’t invested as much as everyone would like in transportation, so when something like this happens all we have is a menu of bad options.” Venturi and ReThink Studio propose an extension of the E train into Brooklyn via the existing A/C tunnel, then along the Court Square-bound G tracks by adding in a rail switch at the Hoyt-Schermerhorn station. “It’s easy for us to say to just put a switch in, but it’s more difficult than that,” Venturi said. “It’s tight to put it in, but it’s possible. It gives north Brooklyn’s G line the ability to have singleseat ride into Manhattan. The E train could continue along with its A and C siblings under the East River at Hoyt-Schermerhorn, divert from the A and C and go with the G. In general, the idea makes sense.” To learn more about ReThink Studio and their plans for changing New York’s transportation system, visit their http://www.rethinkstudio.org/. Ridgewood/M.V. bridge project delayed again BY ANTHONY GIUDICE [email protected] @A_GiudiceReport The Department of Transportation’s (DOT) emergency project to rehabilitate the deck of the Metropolitan Avenue Bridge still has yet to begin, three weeks after its proposed start date. The emergency work — which was slated to begin after the Fourth of July holiday weekend — will replace the badly deteriorated deck of the bridge over the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) at Fresh Pond Road and Metropolitan Avenue on the Ridgewood/Middle Village border. According to an email from the project’s community liaison Nancy Catapano, the project startup, which includes reviewing and approval of drawings with the LIRR and approval of vendors and subcontractors, has taken longer than expected and caused the delay in construction. The email states that the installation of the underdeck shield below the bridge and above the railroad will start in August. “The maintenance and protection of traffic signs for construction operations at street level are expected to be installed, but covered, in anticipation of commencement around Labor Day,” Catapano said in the email. Before any work requiring lane closures or detours begins, a seven-day notice will be provided to area residents and businesses. All emergency services, first responders and public transit operators are currently being updated on the start of active construction on the bridge. “I’m certainly looking forward to them beginning the actual work to replace the bridge deck,” said Gary Giordano, district manager of Community Board 5 (CB 5). “Especially since it’s obvious that ongoing deterioration of the bridge deck is taking place.” A representative with the DOT said that the start of work on the Metropolitan Avenue Bridge has been pushed back in order to ensure the proper review and approval of the projected work. Work is expected to begin in late summer. RIDGEWOOD TIMES/Photo by Anthony Giudice The Metropolitan Avenue Bridge emergency project has been delayed.
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