MTA Repairs Troubled 2, 3 and 4 Subway Train Tunnels in Brooklyn, Plans Changes in Service

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is planning a series of structural repairs along the 2, 3 and 4 lines in Brooklyn between Borough Hall and Franklin Avenue.

“Our crews are taking advantage of lower ridership to complete work that will improve the reliability, performance, and safety in Brooklyn and throughout our system,” said NYC Transit Interim President Sarah Feinberg. “As riders continue to return to the system, we want to make sure there are as few disruptions as possible.”

The reconstruction project will see a suspension of the 4 train between Brooklyn and Manhattan, along with a rerouting of 2, 3, and 4 train service along Eastern Parkway, the authority announced on Oct. 15.

The repairs come as the subway is experiencing record low ridership due to the coronavirus pandemic, and as the cash strapped agency continues its pleas for emergency funding from a hostile federal government to prevent deep service cuts and layoffs.

The repairs are expected to take 33 months with most work on the 4 train tunnel in Manhattan taking place on the weekends into 2023. It is likely that ridership will rebound in that time period as the pandemic wanes and New Yorkers return to work.

The repairs will include the installation of drip pans — which stop water from falling onto the platforms — and guardrails, using 33,500 square feet of concrete and 12,500 tons of steel, as well as upgrades to structural columns, roof beams, and concrete, according to the authority.

In 2018, ceilings in tunnels served by the 2, 3 and 4 trains at the Borough Hall and Atlantic Terminal stations collapsed on several occasions and injured straphangers.

Starting the weekend of Oct. 16, 4 train service will not operate to or from Brooklyn into Manhattan, and 2 and 3 trains will run locally through Brooklyn. Starting the weekend of Nov. 13, trains along the 2 and 3 lines will operate in one direction between Atlantic Avenue and Franklin Avenue, while 4 train service will operate normally between Brooklyn and Manhattan and along Eastern Parkway.

Further information on service changes can be found on the authority’s website.

Editor’s note: A version of this story originally ran in Brooklyn Paper. Click here to see the original story.

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