[ad_1]
[Whatyouneedtoknowtostarttheday: Get New York today in your inbox .]
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced on Thursday that the L train metro tunnel would not be completely shut down in April as planned, which would have been one of the biggest transit disturbances in the city's recent history from New York.
The stop of the L train was to end. begins April 27 and lasts 15 months, paralyzing a key element of the city's transportation network. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates the subway, had said the closure was needed to repair the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, when the tunnel between Manhattan and Brooklyn had been flooded with floodwater.
Under a new plan unveiled by Mr. Cuomo, workers would use a different design to repair the tunnel and some work could be done at night and on weekends. He said that not completely shutting down the L train would be "a phenomenal benefit to the people of New York."
The alternative plan was recommended by a group of experts convened by Mr. Cuomo, who described the new concept as a "major breakthrough" that had been used in Europe but had not yet been tried in this country.
"What these people have conceived is the first of its kind in the United States of America," said the governor, who was joined by the engineering experts who had worked out the plan. "No rail system has used this approach before. So, from their point of view, it's really exciting. "
" I do not know if you can say it, "joked Mr. Cuomo," but these engineers are enthusiastic. "
The new plan could be completed in 15 to 20 months and means that the peak hour schedule of train L will remain the same.The trains would run again at night and on weekends, but the times of Expectation would be longer.
The governor himself admitted the subway tunnel, but the problem to be solved was to let in the seawater into the tunnel and to get in touch with it. "Salt water and electronics do not mix," said Mr. Cuomo.
A key provision of the alternative plan eliminates the need to replace important parts of the benchtop wall , lining the tunnel and containing electrical cables .. Instead, a power and control system would be installed with new cables along a wall.
For months, the makers of the metro were preparing for closure and at the planning alternative routes for commuters to travel to Manhattan. included a major expansion of bus service and the addition of bike lanes. When the closure was announced in 2016, the news sparked panic in Brooklyn about what it meant for real estate and local businesses to be strangled in Manhattan. Every day, about 250,000 people take the line under the East River.
Last month, Mr. Cuomo, who controls the subway, visited the L train tunnel with engineering experts to see if there was another way to proceed with the repair work. 19659004] "If there is a better way to do it, they tell us that there is a better one," Cuomo said at the time. "If there's no better way to do it, they say it's best."
Officials said the new plan also included improvements to make the tunnel more resistant to potential storms similar to Sandy. . These modifications included watertight openings that currently allow water to enter the tracks between First Avenue Station in Manhattan and Bedford Avenue Station in Brooklyn. The tunnel would also be equipped with the necessary technology to monitor its structural integrity.
The transit agency had originally announced that the closure would be 18 months, and then reduced to 15 months. Subway officials had examined two proposals: a complete and shorter tunnel closure or a three-year partial closure that would have allowed some trains to continue operating.
They chose the total closure to try to do it quickly. and limit the inconvenience for runners.
The president of the authority, Fernando Ferrer, said Thursday that the agency would adopt the panel's recommendations. He added that the workers would close one of the two tunnel tubes at once and complete the work at night and on weekends. "No complete closure will be necessary," he said. "No L-pocalypse."
Source link
