Repairing Sandy Damaged Rail Tunnels Could Snarl Commute for Years

[marmar]

Repairing Sandy Damaged Rail Tunnels Could Snarl Commute for Years

Thursday, October 02, 2014 - 12:01 AM
WNYC
By Kate Hinds




Almost two years ago, Sandy flooded four of Amtrak's six tunnels in and out of Manhattan with 13 million gallons of sea water. While the agency flushed the tunnels out in the days following the storm, chemical deposits containing chlorides and sulfates remained, slowly attacking the rails, cracking concrete, and damaging electrical systems.

Now, a new engineering report commissioned by Amtrak says while the tunnels are structurally sound, they should be taken out of service, one at a time, for extensive repairs to fix the "significant damage" caused by the storm. That work, if conducted around the clock, could take up to a year to complete in each tunnel.

The MTA performed similar work on one its tunnels recently, when it shut down the R train tunnel to make Sandy repairs.

Two of the four Amtrak tunnels under the East River, which also serve Long Island Rail Road, the nation's busiest commuter rail line, were also flooded. And both Amtrak tunnels under the Hudson River, which also serve New Jersey Transit, were flooded by Sandy. To shut down either of the Hudson tunnels, "you’re talking about debilitating losses in service," says Richard Barone of the Regional Plan Association. Because of the way the tunnels are configured, trans-Hudson rail service would need to be reduced by 75 — not 50 — percent. ...............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.wnyc.org/story/amtrak-tunnels/

[KamaAina]

1. If only Krispy Kreme hadn't killed the planned construction of new tunnels.

But then, he is more of a bridge man.