Earlier this week, long-time SAS reader Bill sent me the following query:
Court Square’s 7 Station is supposed to re-open on Monday, but judging from the looks of it today, they are WAY behind schedule. Large sections of the platform are missing and they haven’t even started putting the windguard back up on the Flushing-bound side. I’m not a betting man, but if I were, I’d predict that either it will be delayed by a week, possibly two or three—or, they will literally use plywood to hold it together come Monday morning.
I haven’t taken a ride on the 7 in a while and wasn’t in a position to assess the construction. I’d heard some good reports, some bad, but the reopening of the station — and the end of weekend shutdowns for the Flushing line — loomed. Today, Transit announced that Court Sq. would indeed open on time.
“Returning Court Square station to revenue service will once again allow our customers to take advantage of the recently completed in-system free transfer, and with full rehabilitation work nearly complete, the fast-growing area of Long Island City will have a refurbished and updated complex that will be fully accessible,” NYC Transit President Thomas F. Prendergast said in a statement this morning.
The station will reopen at 5 a.m. on Monday morning after a closure that began on January 21. New work included replacement platforms and windscreens as well as enhanced accessibility features. The entire station will be ADA-compliant come June.
In announcing the reopening of the station, Transit noted that the new platform relies on a new construction technique. It is not traditional concrete, but rather a composite of fiberglass and resin formed into panels. The composite are manufactured into 2×12-foot panels, bolted together and fastened to the platform support steel. It is modular station construction.
According to Transit, this composite is corrosion-resistant and will not be affected by de-icing salts. It will not crack during freeze/thaw cycles either. It is also lighter and faster to install. Thus, the new station will indeed be ready, 11 weeks after it was shuttered, come Monday morning.
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