The Montague Street tunnel runs under the East River between Brooklyn and Manhattan. Credit: MTA
MTA officials announced a series shutdown plans for the R and G trains to repair damage caused by Superstorm Sandy last year.
The R train between Brooklyn and Manhattan will be closed for approximately 14 months, starting at the beginning of August. The G train between Brooklyn and Queens will also be shut to repair damage starting July 6.
The Montague Street tunnel, which connects Manhattan and Brooklyn via the R train under the East River, suffered severe damage during the storm. At the time, the MTA pumped 27 million gallons of water out of the tunnel.
The MTA’s plans for the G train will affect weekend service starting at midnight on Fridays. The weekends it will be shut are: July 6-7, 13-14, 20-21; August 3-4, 10-11, 17-18; September 7-8, 28-29; October 5-6; December 7-8, and 14-15. The G train will also experience a five-week closure next summer.
“We understand that the MTA has to do what’s necessary to rebuild from Sandy, we know it will be painful, and we support the MTA decision doing this much-needed construction,” John Raskin, executive director for the Riders Alliance, said in a statement. “But shutting down a whole train line is an extraordinary move, and we want to guarantee the MTA is making extraordinary accommodations to serve riders while the tunnels are under repair.”
Fernando Ferror, MTA acting chairman, said the temporary repairs done after Sandy are not enough to provide reliable service.
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,” he said. “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.”
