MTA to make Sandy-related repairs to Clark St. Tube
Written by Kyra Senese, Managing Editor
A third rail maintainer laying out cable during work on Clark St. in 2011.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority/Leonard Wiggins
New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will begin the next round of Superstorm Sandy-related repairs in spring 2017 with weekend closures of the Clark St. Tube to fix integral components.
The Clark St. Tube carries the system’s 2 and 3 lines between Manhattan and Brooklyn below the East River.
The tube spans 1.2 miles and was one of nine MTA tunnels damaged by a storm surge in October 2012. Representatives say more than 500,000 gallons of salt water flooded the tunnel, damaging tracks, signals and other safety-critical equipment. While crews performed temporary repairs immediately following the storm, extensive reconstruction remains necessary to ensure safe operations in the tunnel.
Representatives expect the repair work to be done throughout 56 weekends to avoid affecting regular weekday service.
“The Clark St project is the next phase in what is the most extensive reconstruction and fortification effort in the history of the New York City subway system,” said Veronique “Ronnie” Hakim, president of MTA. “This effort is well underway and we continue to face the challenge of performing these vital tasks as quickly and effectively as possible while minimizing the impact on our customers’ commutes. We also aim to minimize the duration of the project and avoid customer confusion by providing the same service every weekend, when possible, throughout the entire project.”
The proposed service plan would also operate overnight from Sunday nights through 5 a.m. on Monday mornings. The service changes are expected to impact about 205,000 riders per average weekend, with travel times predicted to increase by about 4.5 minutes.
