MTA Shortens Timeline For L Train Shutdown

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- It appears the dreaded L train shutdown will not take as long as first thought.

The MTA has shortened the timeline for the rehabilitation project by three months, scaling it back from 18 months to 15 months.

The L train shutdown will now happen in April 2019 instead of January 2019, but that meant little to transit advocates who want to see how the MTA will handle getting people from point A to point B, WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reported.

There will be no L Train service between Manhattan and Brooklyn to repair damage that the Canarsie Tunnel sustained during Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

Kate Slevin of the Regional Plan Association says a so-called "people way" on 14th street would give mass transit priority over cars.

"For example 14th street could become reserved for buses, pedestrians, and bikes," Slevin said. "And the Williamsburg Bridge could offer dedicated bike and bus ways."

The MTA previously said other options may include extra trains on the G, J and M lines. Transit advocates say the MTA must reveal its alternative plans by this summer so commuters can plan for the disruption.

The same contractor that built the long-delayed 2nd Avenue Subway was awarded the L train contract, but the MTA said Judlau Contracting has agreed to fines of $410,000 a day if they exceed the July 2020 completion date.

An estimated 225,000 people take the L Train under the East River each weekday.