• Subscribe
  • Magazine
  • 40 Under 40
  • Supplier's Directory
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
    1. Rail
    2. Infrastructure

    MTA finalizes L Project service schedule through March 2020

    Jan. 13, 2020
    Work includes rehabilitating four station in Brooklyn and preparatory work to connect power to three new substations along the L as the project remains ahead of schedule.
    Related To: MTA – New York City Transit
    NYC Transit Twitter
    Mta2 5e1ca8e3b03ba

    The schedule for the previously announced power and construction support work on the L Project has been issued by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), with the tunnel portion still set for completion in April 2020, some three to six months ahead of schedule.

    The preparatory work to connect power to three new substations as well as stations improvement work in Brooklyn has been set through March and will impact L train service on the line over the course of three weekends.

    As part of the L Project, the MTA previously announced that full track and station access is required for crews in Brooklyn and in Manhattan to make progress on two parts of the project: a major station rehabilitation and accessibility improvement initiative at four stations in Brooklyn, and work to connect power between the tracks and the three new substations, which will power more L trains. The work was originally set to take place over four weekends of outages in Brooklyn and two between Manhattan and Brooklyn, but the MTA says it has created a more efficient work schedule and minimized customer impacts, reducing impacts to only two weekends of partial  line outages in Brooklyn and one tunnel weekend outage through March 2020:

    Jan. 17-20 weekend: No L service in Brooklyn between Lorimer St and Broadway Junction, work includes:

    • At Bedford Av, deliver new elevator equipment, as well as progress track wall tile, signal testing and platform structural work with the extended work area.
    • At Bushwick Av-Aberdeen St Station, complete platform work with new tactile strips on both platforms and final fixes to the platform edges.
    • At Halsey St, repair steel columns and make platform and wall repairs throughout the station.
    • At Morgan Av, repair structural beams and make platform and wall repairs throughout the station.
    • At DeKalb Av, make platform and wall repairs throughout the station.

    Feb. 14-18 weekend (Presidents' Day included): No L service in Brooklyn between Lorimer St and Broadway Junction, work includes:

    • At Bedford Av, progress track wall painting and tile installation and removing temporary power conduits and cables with the extended work area.
    • At Bushwick Av-Aberdeen St Station, make final repairs throughout the station and start final inspections.
    • At Halsey St, continue steel column repairs and start final inspections.
    • At Morgan Av, continue structural beam repairs and start final inspections.
    • At DeKalb Av, continue minor repair work to platforms and walls throughout the station and start final inspections.

    March 20-23 weekend: No L service from 8 Av to Broadway Junction, work includes:

    • Connect negative and positive feeder cables from the new Avenue B substation to the circuit breaker house to both Q1 and Q2 tracks.
    • Connect power cables from the new Maspeth Avenue and Harrison Place substations in Brooklyn to the tracks, following the prior successful energization of low-tension electric service.
    • Restore the contact rail section gap at Bedford Av on both Q1 and Q2 tracks.
    • Install negative equalizers between Q1 and Q2 tracks.
    • Cutover the radio antenna cables to the new system on both Q1 and Q2 tracks.
    • Complete the new emergency alarm and telephone system cutover from the old system for both Q1 and Q2 tracks.
    • Complete final inspections for Bushwick Av-Aberdeen St, Halsey St, Morgan Av and DeKalb Av Stations for accessibility and station platform renewal project.

    Customers will have alternative bus and subway service options these weekends and can use the MyMTA app or the dedicated L Project service change information page to plan a trip.

    The L Project encompasses the rehabilitation of the Canarsie L Tube, which carries L trains between Brooklyn and Manhattan and was severely damaged by Superstorm Sandy; new power infrastructure to support L train service, and several station improvement projects to increase capacity and accessibility at stations on the L line and several J, M, Z lines that serve as alternate subway service during the project. The tunnel rehabilitation, which began in April 2019 using a modified 15-to-18-month construction plan that preserves regular subway service for 90 percent of L riders, is currently months ahead of schedule and set to finish in 12 months. In addition to an early construction timeline for the tunnel work, several related construction projects are also ahead of schedule.