On Thursday, January 3, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the 15-month-long L train shutdown that has been in the works for year will no longer happen.
This sudden change comes after a press conference held by the governor earlier today where he presented a new design for the Canarsie Tunnel. In the conference Cuomo said, “Long story short, with this design it would not be necessary to close the L train tunnel at all, which would be a phenomenal benefit to the people of New York City.”
Under this “new design” the train would only close on some nights and weekends, and apparently the MTA has already reviewed the new plan and claim it is doable. While the design has never been used in the United States, it was developed by engineering experts from Columbia University and Cornell Tech, and was explored after Cuomo visited the tunnel himself only a couple of weeks ago.
It will keep from the tunnel between Brooklyn and Manhattan from having to fully shut down and with 250,000 commuters that rely on the L train, Cuomo wants to be sure that “as Governor of the State of New York that I can look New Yorkers in the eye and say we have gone through the project, we have gone through the project with the best minds on the globe and this is the best way to do it and the fastest way to do it.”
The sudden new which comes only three months before the slated shutdown on April 27 is raising many questions, like: How will the contractors be able to suddenly finish the work on time without having to close the train line? And what about all the money spent on adjusting for the closure over the last three years?
[featured image source: Wikimedia Commons / photo modified / MoskFPS / CC by 3.0