New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority intends to close the Canarsie Tunnel, which carries the L subway train between Brooklyn and Manhattan, for 18 months beginning in January 2019 to repair damage from Hurricane Sandy.
The MTA, one of the largest municipal issuers with nearly $37 billion in debt, will put the project out to bid by year's end, Veronique "Ronnie" Hakim, president of the authority's New York City Transit subdivision, told reporters Monday in lower Manhattan.
The project should cost around $900 million, said Hakim, with MTA officials expecting sizeable reimbursement from the federal government. The work on the tube itself is estimated at $645 million. The authority also plans to install new stairs and elevators at the Bedford Avenue station in Brooklyn and First Avenue in Manhattan.
"A big part of this is Sandy money. I think it's hundreds of millions of dollars," she said. "I'm not going to talk bid numbers because obviously I don't want to tip my hand to the construction community. This isn't going to be about dollars and cents in terms of developing a service plan; this is going be about putting money into a service plan that does it right for our customers."
Canarsie was one of nine underwater tunnels that flooded during the Oct. 29, 2012 megastorm, all of which required major rehabilitation and repair. Some of that work was accomplished during night and weekend closures, while the R line's Montague Tunnel under the East River was closed for 13 months and the G line tunnel under Newtown Creek was closed for two months, both for complete renovations.
Hakim told board members the procurement could include incentives for early completion and penalties for lateness. Work on the R line's Montague Tunnel finished within 13 months, she said, one month ahead of schedule.
"Incentives are something that's negotiated typically in a procurement. We are not at that stage yet but what we do know is that they can work," she said.
Since May, the MTA has held four meetings in affected communities including Williamsburg, Bushwick, Canarsie in Brooklyn and in Manhattan, along the 14th Street corridor, and visited all 11 community boards along the L line. MTA officials said sentiment overwhelmingly favored the full, shorter-duration closure as opposed to a partial shutdown over three years.
Hakim said a full shutdown will give the contractor better control of the tunnel. "This isn't going to be a low-bid job. This is going to be a job where we go to the best qualified team."
Mayor Bill de Blasio and First Deputy Mayor Anthony Shorris have called for more information about alternative travel options, such as buses and increased service on the G, J and M subway lines.
"Everybody shares the same concern," said Hakim. "We have time to do this thoroughly and get it right. Everything is on the table at this juncture."
