MTA awards L.K. Comstock $66-million LIRR contract

Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick Cashin

Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) awarded $66.5-million contract for track and system installation for a second track on the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) to L.K. Comstock & Company Inc.

L.K. Comstock, a specialty electrical contractor and a subsidiary of RailWorks Corporation, will be responsible for installing new utility poles, signal, communication and fiber cable and signal equipment, as well as testing and commissioning all of the systems. RailWorks Transit will perform all related track and civil work, including installing 13 miles of track for the new second track.

In addition to the main line work, the project also includes designing and constructing the Wyandanch and Pinelawn stations, which will involve demolishing the old platforms, installing new ones and constructing a new pedestrian walkway and elevators at Wyandanch Station that are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Work on the projects is set to start this month and will extend over the next 19 months with a targeted completion date by the end of 2018. MTA says the double-track project will improve service and reliability on the LIRR’s Ronkonkoma Branch, which the transportation authority says have doubled ridership over the past 25 years, and will improve service to Long Island MacArthur Airport.

“Many of our employees commute on this line to reach our offices,” said Ben D’Alessandro, president of L.K. Comstock and RailWorks Transit. “We understand firsthand the benefits this double-track project will deliver. Our team is excited to put our integrated capabilities into action to improve service and reliability on this busy rail corridor on Long Island.”

Both L.K. Comstock & Co. and RailWorks Transit are subsidiaries of RailWorks Corporation.