BY MICHAEL OSSORGUINE | M.T.A. officials came to the Community Board 2 Traffic and Transportation Committee meeting last Thursday to get input from the district on the agency’s repair plans for its two L subway tubes under the East River — the Canarsie Tunnel — that were swamped by Superstorm Sandy.
As the worst storm to ever hit the M.T.A. system, Sandy, with its corrosive salt water, caused damage that will require at least a drastic slowdown, if not full closure, of L train service, lasting from 18 months to three years. This protracted work raises logistical questions of rerouting traffic in C.B. 2 to mitigate an increase in traffic across bridges and through 14th St.
Last Thursday, the C.B. 2 committee suggested expand ed bus service and the closure of 14th St. to civilian vehicles, but was also receptive to the M.T.A.’s suggestions that the majority of straphangers who need the Bedford Ave.-to-Manhattan connection can switch to the J, M, Z or G lines.
“For the vast majority of people, another subway line alternative is going to be their fastest way,” an M.T.A. representative explained.
Another proposed strategy is to expand service on the M23, M34 and M14 bus routes. The M.T.A. is in discussions with the Department of Transportation to plan extended bus routes via Select Bus Service that could help connect straphangers to a temporary ferry service to Queens and Brooklyn, or take them across the Williamsburg Bridge.
In response to a popular proposal that 14th St. between Sixth Ave. and Union Square be closed to cars — except for M.T.A. buses and nighttime delivery trucks — M.T.A. representatives said they could not respond since they do not control the streets. However, according to a Select Bus Service project manager, “All options are still on the table.” The idea of turning 14th St. into a thoroughfare for pedestrians and cyclists was first introduced by state Senator Brad Hoylman.
Even a private developer’s plan to build a new gondola system over the East River is not completely off the table, M.T.A. officials said, to laughs from the audience.
To find the best options for coping with overcrowding and traffic on 14th St., the M.T.A. is conducting a detailed traffic analysis that will look at a variety of scenarios, and help it make a decision on how to lessen the effects of the planned closures. Officials said decisions will not be made until this study is complete.
Each weekday, the L train carries an estimated 400,000 people, with 225,000 traveling under the East River into Manhattan. Fifty thousand riders use the line for crosstown service in Manhattan.
The section of the L tunnel that needs repairs runs from Eighth Ave. on the border of the Village and Chelsea to Bedford Ave. in Williamsburg. Damaged or collapsed duct banks containing communications and electrical cables need to be repaired and replaced. In addition, new tracks are needed, the existing ones being nearly a century old in some places. Corroded cement walls need patching and the fire-protection system requires revamping.
Finally, the M.T.A. hopes to improve service by building new elevators and entrances during the construction, responding to the tripling of L line usage during the past decade.
So far, much-needed fixes have been delayed. But action must be taken soon in order to utilize millions of federal dollars that could be lost if a deadline is not met. Though M.T.A. representatives are unsure of the exact deadline, they expect to begin the $800 million L tube project in 2019.
At the meeting, the M.T.A. officials reiterated their two potential plans for the mandatory repairs.
One is a three-year plan, in which one tube is completed at a time. This would allow four or five trains to operate on the line in one hour, down from the 20 total that run on the dual tracks under normal circumstances. Officials estimated that only one in five of current passengers could be accommodated under this plan. In addition, they warned that unplanned delays would be frequent under the three-year plan due to the possibility of rubble or cables falling onto the track, and vibrations from the construction destabilizing the trains.
The shorter 18-month option calls for a quicker, more efficient “in-and-out” method in which both tubes are spruced up simultaneously. While this would speed up the process, it would potentially strain the impact-mitigation efforts that the M.T.A is planning. Many have expressed a preference for this plan, including potential contractors who would have more control over their work, and could capitalize on incentives to complete the job ahead of schedule.
“We’re still in the preliminary stages right now,” said the same M.T.A. representative. “So whatever happens going forward, we do want community input on these things.”
The transit representatives said that they had visited almost every community board along the Canarsie route that would be affected, and will not ignore public opinion.
George Haikalis, a public member of the C.B. 2 Traffic and Transportation Committee and a civil engineer, suggested that duct banks may be an antiquated communications system.
“Can’t we use radio communication? Can’t we use some type of wire on the top of the tunnel?” Haikalis said. “It would be great to find a third option that would be three months, or six months. Something like the FASTRACK Maintenance Program, where very extensive work is done in the subway over the weekend, and then it’s back up and running.”
In response, M.T.A. representatives directed concerned citizens to www.mta.info/CanarsieTunnelReconstruction, where infomation about the project can be found and suggestions can be made.
