Look: New York’s L Project tunnel rehabilitation is complete

Written by RT&S Staff

Governor Hochul announces $76.4 million in rail freight investments.

Trent Reeves/MTA Construction & Development

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on April 26 that the L Project tunnel rehabilitation had been completed three months earlier than the most aggressive original schedule of 15-18 months, and under budget, saving more than $100 million and with no shutdown. The L Project tunnel rehabilitation plan employed new construction methods and technology that had been used in other transit systems around the world and several industries, yet never in a similar project in the U.S. The methods, recommended by engineering faculty from Columbia and Cornell Universities, allowed NYC Transit to continue running subway service in the tunnel throughout the construction so regular weekday commutes of the vast majority of L customers between Manhattan and Brooklyn were not disrupted, including during the busiest times. See pictures of the project below.