Construction on bridges and tunnels in the city will be accelerated to alleviate the impact on commuters affected by the summerlong track repair project at Penn Station, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday.
All major construction projects on the MTA’s Queens-Midtown Tunnel, Hugh L. Carey Tunnel, Verrazano Narrows Bridge and Robert F. Kennedy Bridge will be completed by July 8, Cuomo pledged.
Amtrak’s planned repair work, which will reduce the number of trains going in and out of Penn Station by 20 percent, is slated to begin July 10 and continue through the end of August, in what the governor dubbed as the ”summer of agony.”
Cuomo expects more cars to be on the roads as a result and hopes the expedited schedule will “reduce vehicular congestion.”
“All major commuting crossings will be cashless and all lanes will be open during the daytime,” the governor’s office said in a statement.
The projects that will be accelerated include the reconstruction of the north tube of the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, the restoration of the Brooklyn Plaza at the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel and the installation of cashless tolling on the Verrazano bridge.
