Joe.My.God. LGBT News
A few days ago we learned that the MTA is planning the complete closure of 30 subway stations for renovations that will (allegedly) take up to a full year. Today we get more much dire news about the L train, known to many here as the “hipster express” as its first Brooklyn stop is in Williamsburg. Via Gothamist:
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.
L train service would continue within each borough during the shutdown and fleet of shuttle buses would be deployed to get commuters over the East River via the Williamsburg Bridge. Canarsie Tube repairs will be covered by federal disaster relief funds.