The M train will go missing in Middle Village and Ridgewood next year.
The MTA announced Friday that it will close the Myrtle Avenue Line — which carries the M train between Middle Village (Metropolitan Avenue) and Bushwick (Myrtle Avenue-Broadway) — for many months in 2017 as it renovates much of the elevated line.
Several news outlets broke the story late Thursday, even though the MTA is scheduled to confirm the plans in a statement to be released on Friday. Reportedly, the MTA wants to bring the entire Myrtle Avenue Line into good repair prior to its planned extended closure of the Canarsie Tube on the L line.
The L line shutdown is required, according to the MTA, in order to fully repair damages inflicted by Hurricane Sandy in October 2012. The closure won’t occur, however, until after the repairs on the Myrtle Avenue Line are completed.
The M train currently operates on weekdays between Middle Village and Forest Hills, traveling through northern Brooklyn and the heart of Manhattan along the way. On weekends, the M train runs as a four-car shuttle between Middle Village and Essex Street in Lower Manhattan.
Every day, thousands of riders in Middle Village, Ridgewood, Bushwick and surrounding communities pick up the M train at the Middle Village-Metropolitan Avenue, Fresh Pond Road, Forest Avenue, Seneca Avenue, Myrtle-Wyckoff Avenues, Knickerbocker Avenue, Central Avenue and Myrtle Avenue-Broadway stations.
These commuters would need to figure out another way to get around if and when the Myrtle Avenue Line is closed. The nearest subway line for most of the affected commuters is the L line, which stops at Myrtle-Wyckoff Avenues and Halsey Street in Ridgewood. That means riders would need to take buses, drive or ride their bikes to and from these stops.
Meanwhile, the M train would be rerouted along the J/Z line through Brooklyn to and from Broadway Junction.
Check back later with QNS for additional details.
