The L train tunnel repairs are now complete (Wikimedia Commons)
April 27, 2020 By Allie Griffin
Reconstruction of the L train tunnel from Manhattan to Brooklyn has been completed ahead of schedule, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Sunday.
The tunnel was damaged during Hurricane Sandy and was in need of extensive repairs. The MTA originally planned to shutter service between Manhattan and Brooklyn for 15 to 18 months to revamp it— until Cuomo stepped in with a different plan.
Cuomo toured the tunnel with a team of engineers in January 2019 and came up with a new plan that didn’t require a full shutdown. The new plan would also be completed in less time.
Yesterday, he announced the tunnel repairs were done.
“We rebuilt the tunnel and the tunnel is now done better than before,” Cuomo said at a daily press briefing in Albany yesterday.
The work took 12 months, with L train service reduced on weekends and overnight.
“It opens today — not in 15 months, but actually only in 12 months of a partial shutdown,” Cuomo said Sunday. “So it’s ahead of schedule, it’s under budget and it was never shutdown.”
