Getting Around

pg-9-T-Sam-pic — The northbound platform at the Bleecker Street 6 Train Station near SoHo, NoHo and the West Village floods on a regular basis.

A busy weekend of traffic tribulations begins Friday with Veterans Day and a visit from Vice President Joe Biden. Mr. Biden is hitting the World Financial Center’s Winter Garden mid to late afternoon Friday to attend the unveiling of the “Horse Soldier” Statue that was created to honor our special forces. As the V.P. is likely to be escorted down FDR Drive from LaGuardia Airport and around to West St., Downtown drivers can expect security delays and heavy turbulence into the afternoon rush hour.

Major construction begins at the Battery Tunnel this weekend with one tube fully closed from 10 p.m. Friday night to 5 a.m. Monday morning. Two-way traffic will be maintained in the other tube, leaving only one lane open in each direction. Several full weekend closures of one of the Battery Tunnel tubes will occur through the end of 2012, including the weekends of November 18th and December 2nd of this year.

From the mailbag:

Dear Transit Sam,
I frequently use the Bleecker Street 6 Train Station near SoHo, NoHo and the West Village. For the past several weeks, I’ve noticed that a portion of the northbound uptown platform near the entrance is constantly dripping and covered with water. If you need to head to the front of the train once you enter the station or make your way from the front of the train if you get off at Bleecker, there’s a good chance you’ll get wet since the water is in a very narrow location along the platform. I tried avoiding it by walking on the edge of the platform, and I almost slipped onto the tracks. I hope the MTA fixes this as soon as possible. What’s going on?
Trent, East Village

Dear Trent,
My spanking new suit got soaked coming back from a meeting because of the partially flooded platform. It’s slippery and dangerous. The MTA is currently reconstructing the station to provide a direct connection between the northbound 6 train and the B, D, F and M trains. As part of their construction, they’re replacing the sidewalk above, which is the source of the flooding. When they demolished the sidewalk, they also removed the waterproofing materials underneath it. This allowed rain to seep onto the platform along with the water that was used to wet the concrete when the sidewalk was being removed. Since you wrote me, the MTA finished removing the sidewalk (no more water from wetting the concrete). In addition after hearing from Transit Sam, the MTA told me they have since put back the waterproofing that was in place before the sidewalk construction (in case of inclement weather). I checked the platform the other day and noticed it was much better. I’ve asked the MTA to finish the clean up tout-de-suite.
Transit Sam

Confused about ever changing traffic regulations and transit operations? Need help navigating around lower Manhattan? If so, e-mail TransitSam@downtownexpress.com or write to Transit Sam, 611 Broadway, Suite 415, New York, NY 10012.