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Commuters who rely on the L train breathed a sigh of relief earlier this year when it was announced that the dreaded shutdown of the line will be shortened by three months. This month, New Yorkers will get a bitter taste of all of the inconvenience that's set to come in 2019 as a majority of the stops along the route are scheduled to close for two separate weekends.
From midnight on Saturday, May 6 through 5am on Monday, May 8 and from midnight on Saturday 27 through 5am, Tuesday, May 30, the L will not operate west of Broadway Junction. If you were planning on staying in the city over Memorial Day weekend, it might be time to start planning a getaway.
During the two affected weekends, the MTA will conduct key repairs and preparatory work on the Canarsie Tunnel in order to ensure the tunnel can remain open until its planned April 2019 closure, according to a press release. This work includes surveys of the tubes, tracks and other work that requires the third rail to be shut off.
The tunnel is still suffering from damage it sustained as a result of flooding from Superstorm Sandy in 2012, and will close for 15 months in 2019 for repairs. During that stretch, New York will lose one a key connections between Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan, directly affecting more than 225,000 daily riders.
There are a medley of alternatives for commuters who depend on the L. From shuttle buses to the new NYC Ferry service to a new fleet of 200 diesel buses, the city and the MTA have worked to soften the blow from the shutdown. But at the end of the day, it's going to be pretty miserable for a sizable chunk of the city.