By now you’ve probably heard about the closure of the L train. In the midst of a thousand angry voices it can be hard to pick out the facts. That’s where SecretNYC comes in! Here is everything you need to know about the L Train Closure.
Let’s start with the obvious:
- The L train is one of the city’s most crowded subway lines and runs under the East River between Manhattan and Brooklyn.
- The Metropolitan Transportation Authority plans to close the tunnel to repair damage caused by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
- The line is famously crowded. The aging infrastructure of the subway system is not able to keep up with the numbers of young people moving to the city that prefer to use mass transit.
- The tunnel currently transports about 225,000 riders beneath the East River each day.
- The New York Times reported that the shut-down will start in January 2019.
- Williamsburg businesses are expected to suffer the most from the year and a half closure. Shops, bars and restaurants that have become hot-spots for visitors and locals of NYC, are expected to be hit hard by the move.
- New York officials are focusing on finding alternative travel options to accommodate people
- Extra subway service on nearby lines.
- A new bus.
- A ferry service.
- The L train is just one of a many subway systems facing temporary closures across the northeastern U.S.
Featured image source: [wsj]