MTA reopens Denton Avenue to vehicular traffic following bridge replacement

MTA has opened the Denton Avenue bridge replacement.

MTA

Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) announced that Denton Avenue and Tanners Pond Road in Garden City have reopened to vehicular traffic.

This follows the replacement of the Tanners Pond Road/Denton Avenue Bridge with a modern three-track bridge.

The new bridge is part of the Main Line Expansion Project which is adding a third track between Floral Park and Hicksville. The construction of the third track will reduce road congestion by giving the LIRR more operating flexibility, enabling it to operate true bi-directional service during peak hours on the Main Line which consists of three branches (Ronkonkoma, Port Jefferson/Huntington and Oyster Bay.) In the event there are service disruptions, delays can be more easily managed and minimized. 

Safety along the Main Line corridor has been dramatically improved with the replacement or upgrading of seven bridges and the elimination of eight at-grade crossings. Traffic backups due to the closure of crossing gates and over-height truck collisions with railroad bridges will also be a thing of past.

“It may be small physically, but the Denton Avenue Bridge demonstrates why the LIRR Third Track Project is a historic success. Delays due to litigation could have led to major delays to the whole project, but our team came up with strategies to shorten construction and minimize disruption to the project, and to the community,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. “Unlike most public sector mega projects, Third Track is on schedule and even $100 million below budget.”

“Now that Denton Avenue is reopened to traffic and enhanced with sidewalks for pedestrians, Garden City residents will be able to take advantage of all of the upgrades at nearby Merillon Avenue station and all of the expanded Main Line service that will be available by the end of the year,” said LIRR Interim President and Metro-North President Catherine Rinaldi. “The Third Track team made a herculean effort to create stations and infrastructure that are critical to service upgrades while maintaining the beauty of the Denton Avenue Bridge and green spaces that surround it.”

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