Partial G Train Shutdown For Post-Sandy Repairs To Begin This Weekend
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Repairs to the G train line were set to begin giving Brooklyn and Queens residents headaches beginning this weekend.
For 12 weekends staggered through the end of the year – beginning this coming Saturday and Sunday -- the G Line will be closed north of Nassau Avenue. The Greenpoint Avenue, 21st Street/Jackson Avenue and Court Square stops will all be shuttered.
The Greenpoint Tube, which carries the G Line under the Newtown Creek between Queens and Brooklyn, was one of nine river subway tubes that were flooded during Sandy. The tube was inundated with 3 million gallons of saltwater, damaging pump controls, signal equipment, the electrical and communication systems, and fan control equipment, the MTA said.
Temporary repairs to the tube shortly after Sandy allowed the tunnel to reopen, but it has remained in poor shape ever since, the MTA said. While equipment in the tunnel was cleaned and inspected, it is now failing and causing delays due to damage from Sandy that shortened its lifespan, the MTA said.
Power cables in the tunnel are corroding on the inside, and corrosion on the outside of rails and fasteners has threatened short circuits, the MTA said. The ventilation, lighting and communication control systems also have not been restored, the MTA said.
The agency said the repairs cannot wait.
"Work to the Greenpoint Tube cannot be put off. This is work that must begin now," New York City Transit Acting President Carmen Bianco said in a news release. "While our customers will suffer some inconvenience, the payoff will be completion of this necessary work in the shortest time possible. In the meantime, we will be providing shuttle bus services during these weekend closures."
The G Line will be closed north of Nassau Avenue for the following non-consecutive weekends, which are subject to change:
1. July 6-8
2. July 13-15
3. July 20-22
4. Aug. 3-5
5. Aug. 10-12
6. Aug. 17-19
7. Aug. 24-26
8. Sept. 7-9
9. Sept. 28-30
10. Oct. 5-7
11. Dec. 7-9
12. Dec. 14-16
Damage from Sandy will also soon force the closure of the Montague Tunnel, which carries the R Train between Manhattan and Brooklyn. Service between Jay Street-MetroTech and Whitehall-South Ferry will be shut down during the repairs, which are expected to take 12 to 14 months.
The MTA said its system sustained an estimated $4.755 billion worth of damage as railroad and subway lines, vehicular tunnels, subway stations and power and signal equipment were inundated with corrosive salt water during Sandy.
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