The L Train Shutdown Will Bring Big Changes to Manhattan
Starting in April 2019, the MTA will begin repair work on the Canarsie tunnel connecting Manhattan to Williamsburg and other parts of north Brooklyn for more than a year. With just 16 months to go before the construction begins, the MTA and the city Department of Transportation have released a preliminary plan outlining how it will ease the commute for the hundreds of thousands of straphangers who rely on the L train.
While the plan does call for the tunnel to be shut down so workers can finally fix serious damage left over from Sandy, it doesn't stop with the subway. According to WNYC's transportation reporter Stephen Nessen, the city is taking this opportunity to test out new traffic patterns and bus routes, which could remake how New Yorkers get around town.
"All of 14th Street from the East River to the Hudson River will be closed to cars during what [the MTA] calls 'peak hours,'" Nessen tells WNYC host David Furst. "The MTA hopes to run 34 buses an hour, allowing them to run river to river in 15 to 20 minutes."
That's just the start. To hear the whole plan for how the city is rethinking public transit along 14th Street, listen to the full interview.
