Ahead of the pending construction work to be done to both train lines that run through Ridgewood — the M and the L — the MTA is holding a community meeting to discuss the future of the work to the Canarsie Tunnel and Myrtle viaduct.
The MTA is calling residents to attend the meeting on Thursday, July 7, at First Bushwick Middle School, which is co-located at Intermediate School 383, located at 1300 Greene Ave. in Brooklyn. Doors open at 5: 30 p.m. and the program will run from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
This meeting is the community’s chance to hear from MTA and NYC Transit leadership and technical staff about the necessary line work for both trains and what impact it will have on service.
The M train work will come in two phases. Phase 1 will see the entire segment of the M line between Metropolitan Avenue and Myrtle Avenue-Broadway close as crews take down and replace a bridge over the freight rail tracks between the Fresh Pond Road and Metropolitan Avenue stations. This phase is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2017.
Phase 2 involves demolishing and replacing the concrete viaduct connecting the Myrtle Avenue Line with the Broadway Line, and is expected to last 10 months.
The total work on the M line is expected to be completed by the summer of 2018 in order to accommodate for an increase in M train service as work then begins on the L train’s Canarsie tube.
The L line is in need of repairs in the tunnel underneath the East River after Hurricane Sandy dumped 7 million gallons of saltwater into the tunnel in October 2012, damaging the concrete lining in the tube, which holds important pieces of infrastructure for the line.
The timeline for repairs to the Canarsie tube is still up in the air as there are several options for construction that would take anywhere between 18 months and 5+ years, depending on which approach is taken.
