New Yorkers Bracing for L Train Closures

"MTA brass face a difficult decision on fixing the 92-year-old Canarsie tunnel that links the two boroughs [of Brooklyn and Manhattan]," reports to an article by Dan Rivoli. The repairs are needed after "Hurricane Sandy flooded the tunnel with more than 7 million gallons of salt water" and the tunnel continues to corrode.

Work is scheduled to begin 2019, but the MTA is still presented with two options for how to perform the necessary maintenance to the tunnel. In option one, work "could kill L train service in and out of Manhattan for 18 months, leaving the line with only Brooklyn service." Option to would leave extra-crowded trains "[limping] beneath the East River on a single track for three years."

Rivoli coverage maintains a human angle throughout, sharing stories of residents and commuters who depend on the line—especially describing the tough choices they will have to make when either alternative for the repair work is chosen. Mayor Bill de Blasio recently told WNYC's "Brian Lehrer Show" that he was "more sympathetic" to the three-year approach, but he is unprepared to give a formal position.