NY governor orders accelerated tunnel repairs
14 June 2017USA – New York's governor Andrew Cuomo announced June 12 orders to accelerate construction on bridges and tunnels in the region, in anticipation of added traffic due to Amtrak emergency repair work.
He called for major construction projects to be complete by July 8 to mitigate the impact of additional vehicles on the road this summer.
"Our top priority is ensuring all New Yorkers can get where they need to go as quickly and easily as possible this summer and we're taking every conceivable step to prepare for Amtrak's summer of hell," Cuomo said. "By aggressively expediting construction we are taking action to ease commutes and provide New Yorkers with peace of mind."
A special interagency team, composed of the governor's Office, the Department of Transportation and the MTA, is overseeing the expedited construction. In May, Cuomo directed the MTA to develop a comprehensive mitigation plan to combat the Pennsylvania Station summer crisis. Amtrak is proposing repairs that would reduce the number of trains at Pennsylvania Station by approximately 20 per cent during peak travel times and as a result, commuters searching for alternative methods of transportation will crush an already overburdened subway system and clog roads and bridges.
Affected tunnels are the Queens-Midtown Tunnel and the Hugh L. Carey tunnel, which saw damage following the 2012 Superstorm Sandy.
