When it comes to construction work, “early” is not a concept many people associated with the MTA. From staircase replacements and escalator repairs to the work on the Culver Viaduct to the 7 line or East Side Access, rarely is anything high profile finished early. We’re lucky, in fact, if something wraps on time.
When it comes to post-crisis which for which someone else is paying (and that is, more often than not, managed in-house), the MTA seems to shift into gear. The five-week shutdown to the G train’s Greenpoint Tubes wrapped on time over Labor Day weekend, and now reports are circulating that the Sandy recovery work on the R train’s Montague St. Tunnel could finish early.
Although various reports earlier this spring noted work was proceeding quickly, The Brooklyn Paper broke the latest story earlier this week:
The tunnel that carries the R train between Brooklyn and Manhattan — which has been closed for more than a year — may reopen ahead of schedule, according to insiders at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
A staffer working to restore the Montague Street Tunnel said the tube, which was closed in August 2013 for post-Hurricane Sandy repairs, will likely be up and running before October, weeks ahead of its scheduled reopening.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the worker said the Authority has already begun sending track geometry cars — automated track-inspection vehicles loaded with high-tech gizmos — through the tunnel to make sure new construction is up to snuff, which is one of the final steps before returning a route to service.
The MTA denied an early opening to the Brooklyn Paper, but a spokesman was more forthcoming to the Daily News. The project, Adam Lisberg said, could “meet or beat the October deadline.” Meanwhile, I’ve spoken to some MTA sources who say the tunnel opening early isn’t a matter of if but when. If politicians are interested in a photo opp ceremony, the reopening could be delayed a few days, but by some accounts, Montague St. is just about ready for revenue service trains.
Now, again, it shouldn’t be newsworthy that the MTA is opening something two or three weeks early or even on time, but because of the way construction projects are handled, it is. We can applaud the reopening of tunnels shut due to damage from Sandy, but we should eye skeptically other work that can’t be completed on time. What takes weeks to fix an escalator? What takes over a year to wrap up new build work? Why are emergency repairs so much quicker? I can’t answer those questions, but someone — or multiple someones — should be looking into it before that ribbon-cutting for the Montague tube, whenever that may be.
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