Politics & Government

R Train Tunnel Will Close For 14 Months Starting in August

Temporary repairs reopened the line, but intense recovery work will take more than a year.

By Matthew Hampton

Evidently, the people of New York City are not close to done paying for the wrath of Superstorm Sandy.

The MTA announced Wednesday morning that they will be closing the Montague Tube under the East River, which connects Brooklyn and Manhattan via the R train. 

The closure will begin in August, and is scheduled to last a whopping 14 months. 

"This is unfortunately the reality of recovery from Sandy: the damage is insidious and continuing, and repairing it will take billions of dollars over several years," said Acting MTA Chair Fernando Ferrer. "We recognize that these closures will be an inconvenience for many of our customers, and we will do our best to provide them with alternatives.  But there is no alternative to doing this work now.”

According to the MTA, the tube was flooded completely with corrosive salt water for ten days by the October 2012 storm. Eventually, more than 27 million gallons were pumped out. 

By the time the water was gone, the damage was severe. While the tube has been temporarily opened for seven months, intense recovery work will have to be done to ensure trains can operate safely in the long-term.

The R will run in two sections during the week 14-month repair period, from Forest Hills to Whitehall Street in Manhattan, and from Court Street to Bay Ridge-95th Street in Brooklyn.

On the weekends, the train will be re-routed over the Manhattan Bridge, skipping Court Street and Jay-Street-MetroTech in Brooklyn and City Hall, Cortlandt, Rector, and Whitehall Street stations in Manhattan. 

The MTA also announced that the Greenpoint Tube on the G line, under Newtown Creek, will close 12 weekends this year beginning in July, in addition to a five-week closure next summer. During that time, shuttle service will be available between Brooklyn and Queens. 


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