Photo Credit: David Kidd
(Queens, NY) — Amtrak is closing one of the two westbound East River tunnels for long term superstorm Sandy related damage repairs, kicking off a nearly three year project at a cost of $1.6 billion.
Governor Kathy Hochul says Amtrak recently agreed to take additional steps to reduce the impact this will have on commuters. Amtrak says it has worked with NJ Transit and Long Island Rail Road on the plan but LIRR officials still have concerns that if something goes wrong during the work, it will have a major impact on service.
Amtrak said to try to avoid delays it will provide around-the-clock engineering coverage during the outage, conduct more frequent inspections of the remaining westbound track — and strategically position rescue equipment so delays can be swiftly resolved.
Amtrak is also cancelling two daily trips to Albany as a result of the work.
