How Cuomo's L Train Plan Avoids The Shutdown

WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN — After months of commuter panic and exodus from Brooklyn's northernmost neighborhoods, Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced the 15-month L train shutdown expected to start in April won't need to happen after all.

Cuomo, along with a team of experts and MTA officials, made the surprise announcement Thursday that the impending 15-month shutdown to repair the Canarsie tunnel from superstorm Sandy damage would be abandoned for a new, innovative plan.

The new method, devised by experts from Cornell and Columbia University, will avoid fully closing the tunnel altogether and will instead close just one of the tunnel's two tubes on some nights and weekends.

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The announcement comes two weeks after Cuomo brought the experts to assess the line's damage and about three years into the planning for the dreaded shutdown, leaving many officials and residents confused as to just why it took so long.

"Today’s announcement comes after individuals have made life-altering decisions about where to live, residents have been impacted by confusing parking changes, and New Yorkers have had taxpayer dollars spent on a design that has become obsolete," Councilmember Keith Powers said in a statement, echoing concerns swirling among residents online.

Cuomo told reporters Thursday that the delay was due to the "never been done before" nature of the new plan.

The MTA's initial plan for renovating the tunnel was the "best practice" method used by all rail companies across the country, he said. The new approach, which has never been used in the United States before, knits together new technologies and will be the first time they are used in a tunnel reconstruction.

"Human nature is to do what you have done that is tried and true...but sometimes you have to be willing to think outside the box or break the box," Cuomo said.

The new plan still achieves the goal of fixing the train's electrical system, which was compromised by flooding, experts said.

But, instead of replacing the old cables and the "bench wall" they are housed in, it will instead mount new cables on the wall in protective material and leave the old cables that are no longer needed untouched. Only "bench wall" that is found to be damaged will be replaced.

The plan also would seal certain openings to prevent water from entering the tunnel again and would add new tracking systems to monitor the tunnel's structural integrity.

Some at the press conference wondered whether the new method posed more risk, would cost more or take longer than the initially-proposed 15-month shutdown.

MTA Acting Chairman Fernando Ferrer said the new plan is estimated to take between 15 and 20 months and will likely cost "within the envelope" of the initial price. Talks have already begun to revise the scope of work in the city's contract with the construction company completing the work, he added.

Certain additional service planned for M, J and 7 trains will still be provided during the reconstruction to help with any delays, Ferrer added.

"Without a doubt this is a less invasive, more efficient approach for rebuilding the L train for the future," Ferrer said. "It represents a huge win for our transit system and for our customers."

Photo provided by Ciara McCarthy/Patch.