Amtrak officials said they expect to begin repair work on four East River tunnels in New York by 2025, which is 13 years after Superstorm Sandy caused critical damage and flooding. The tunnels are primarily used by the Long Island Rail Road, and repairs will require the rail agency to operate without one of the four tunnels for up to four years after repairs begin. Sen. Todd Kaminsky (D-Long Beach) said that the update from Amtrak was, “extremely troubling,” since LIRR has already experienced a 72 percent increase in disruptions since the storm hit in 2012. Additionally, Amtrak officials originally expected to begin repairs in 2019 for a third of the newly project $1 billion price tag.
The change in the timeline and cost of repairs is due to one of Amtrak’s consultants, that primarily focused on repairing deep cracks and holes in the structure caused by the storm and corrosive saltwater. Amtrak officials said that the information provided by the consultant did not include aging electrical wires and signal systems. As result of the damage and aging systems, Amtrak agreed that a, “full reconstruction,” of the tunnels would be necessary for the tunnels’ future use. The design phase of the project, which began in 2015, is not expected to be finished until 2020. Once repairs begin, Amtrak plans to minimize delays for LIRR by waiting until the railroad begins running some trains to Grand Central Terminal as part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s East Side Access project.
From: NARP: 10-20-2017