NYCT completes work on three stations, another successful FASTRACK round

Metropolitan Transportation Authority New York City Transit finished work at three Queens stations three days early, just in time for the weekend. Manhattan-bound platforms at Sutphin Blvd (Hillside Avenue), Briarwood-Van Wyck Blvd. and 75th Avenue reopened at 3 p.m. Friday, April 13 instead of 5 a.m. Monday, April 16 as originally scheduled.

Track and tie replacement went more smoothly than expected. A project that could have stretched out over four weekends was done in seven days. During the seven days of work, transit workers removed 40 bags of debris, installed 1,016 plates and 40 tie blocks, in addition to 1,690 feet of continuous welded rail. This work will contribute to a much smoother ride.

Also on Friday, MTA NYCT wrapped up another FASTRACK line segment closure on the Seventh Avenue Line.
Transit workers were able to accomplish a multitude of tasks stretching from 34th Street-Penn Station to Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. They inspected signals, fixed rails and ties, scraped roadbeds, cleaned stations and painted areas impossible to reach during normal train operation. Workers also took the opportunity to replace lighting fixtures and repair platform edges while performing intense levels of station cleaning.
During the four-night series of shutdowns, hundreds of maintenance workers each night completed work that included:

• 6,845 bags of rubbish removed;
• 99,900 pounds of scrap material and debris removed;
• Muck and mud scraped from 2,375 feet of concrete roadbed;
• Repaired air lines and expansion joints at 11 locations;
• Replaced 1,639 tunnel lights;
• Corrected 1,396 third rail defects. Cleaned, scraped and bagged 93,770 feet of track under and around the third rail;
• Installed 27 running rails, 1,028 plates, 1,882 friction pads and 92 tie blocks;
• Scraped 36,075 sq. feet, primed and painted 26,725 sq. feet at stations;
• Conducted preventative maintenance of elevators and escalators;
• Serviced and inspected 24 smoke detectors and alarms;
• Serviced 16 track switches and 59 signals;
• Replaced 134 sq. feet of ADA tile and 10 platform edge signs;
• Surveyed 80 manholes and
• Cleaned, adjusted and optimized 29 CCTV cameras and 15 monitors.

The area of operation stretched a distance of seven miles from Midtown Manhattan to Downtown Brooklyn and included nearly 20 miles of track.