R Train Service Between Brooklyn And Manhattan Resumes
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Nearly two years after Superstorm Sandy, full R line service between Manhattan and Brooklyn has resumed.
R trains started rolling again through the Montague Tunnel Monday morning.
The tunnel had been flooded with millions of gallons of water by Sandy in 2012. The cost of the reconstruction project was $250 million.
Officials said it was completed one month ahead of schedule and $60 million under budget.
The massive repairs, funded by the Federal Transit Administration, included 11,000 feet of new track and 30,000 feet of new concrete.
Repairs also included replacing everything from cables to the signal system.
R Train Service Between Brooklyn And Manhattan Resumes
The pumping equipment was also upgraded to better deal with future water events like Sandy.
"I believe we should be prepared for it to happen again," said Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who took a ride through the tunnel on Sunday with MTA officials. "I don't believe that was the last time."
"In terms of the rebuilt -- newer and stronger," said MTA Chairman Tom Prendergast. "We put in doors that are basically water tight to keep water from entering that signal room."
The tube was shut down for repairs in August 2013.
R Train Service Between Brooklyn And Manhattan Resumes
Many straphangers Monday morning were relieved to have R trains rolling again.
"I used to have to take the train to Canal Street, go down the station, walk up stairs, go down, up the ramp, make a right, then catch the train coming down three stops," one commuter told CBS 2's Weijia Jiang.
"It's so much easier," another told 1010 WINS' Glenn Schuck. "I've been taking the express bus because of the trains not running, but I'm much happier taking the subway."
"It saves me so much time and effort," another rider told WCBS 880's Paul Murnane.
As part of its resiliency program, the MTA is trying to figure out how to fill more than 500 openings in Lower Manhattan alone.
That includes stairs and grates and other places where water can infiltrate the system, so if another big storm hits, the water won't do damage.
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