Hundreds of thousands of L train riders are bracing for a massive reconstruction project that will disrupt their daily commuting routines. On Thursday night, MTA officials will go public with their plans for just how bad it will be. NY1's Jose Martinez filed the following report.
Riders on the L train are in for some pain.
The MTA must rebuild the line's tunnel beneath the East River, which was badly corroded when 7 million gallons of saltwater poured in during Hurricane Sandy.
"No one is saying this is going to be easy and there won't be any pain. There will be some. But quite frankly, you know, it's something we have to do," said Richard Barone of the Regional Plan Association.
The agency must replace miles of track and third rail, rebuild crumbling duct banks and replace power cables. On Thursday night, the agency will hold a public meeting at the Marcy Avenue Armory in Brooklyn to detail two options to carry out the work.
One option would shut the stretch of the line between Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn and the 14th Street/Eighth Avenue station in Manhattan. Riders would have to take shuttle buses between Manhattan and North Brooklyn, or take the nearby J, M, Z or G lines as an alternative.
"Wow, that would be really difficult. I would have to take the long way to get here, and that would take me about two hours," said one commuter.
The second option would take double the time - three years - but allow for some limited train service between the Bedford Avenue stop and 14th Street/Eighth Avenue. There would be shuttle bus service instead of trains between the Bedford and Lorimer stops.
MTA officials say that option could create 12- to 15-minute waits between trains during rush hour on the system's fastest-growing line.
"At 20 trains, we're already packed at Bedford. So with only five trains, can you imagine how congested it would be?" Barone said.
"It wouldn't be as bad because of the fact that certain times, it would still be available, you can still take that train. But the only fault of that is, three years, that's a very long time," said one commuter.
The MTA expects to choose an option in the next two to three months, but not before taking the temperature of local officials and riders on both sides of the East River.
After Thursday night, the next public public meeting on the Canarsie Tube's reconstruction will be held next Thursday, May 12 at 5:30 pm. That will be at the Salvation Army on 14th Street in Manhattan.