G Subway Line Shuts Down For 5 Weeks For Superstorm Sandy Repairs
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A portion of the G subway line that connects Brooklyn and Queens has been shut down and will remain out of service for five weeks.
The MTA said there is no service between the Nassau Avenue station in Greenpoint and Court Square in Long Island City until Sept. 2.
For more information on travel alternatives, click here. For a map of shuttle bus stops, click here.
The shutdown is necessary so the agency can make repairs to tunnels that were flooded by Superstorm Sandy. About 3 million gallons of salt water flooded the Greenpoint tunnel at the height of the storm, according to the MTA's Kevin Ortiz.
G Subway Line Shutting Down For 5 Weeks
"Plain and simple, metal and salt do not mix," Ortiz told 1010 WINS. "So when you have all the salt water penetrate the tunnels, you do see extensive damage to all sorts of components inside the system and in those tunnels."
About 100,000 riders in Brooklyn and Queens use the G line every day.
The MTA will provide shuttle buses from Court Square to the Lorimer Street L train stop. Free out-of-system transfers will be offered on the J and M lines in the southern portion of Williamsburg. Riders can also use the East River Ferry in Greenpoint.
Many riders on Friday were unhappy about the shutdown.
"To connect, it's going to be really hard. It's just going to be a mess for five weeks," one woman told 1010 WINS' John Montone. "Wouldn't mind the weekend, but do it day and night for five weeks, that's a hardship."
"I'll probably just take the shuttle, I've got no choice," another man said.
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