Planned Weekend Outages Needed to Replace Deteriorating Tracks, Add Noise-Reducing Equipment 

Free Shuttle Buses Replace  Service during Weekend Work

MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) will be performing major upgrades to the Astoria’s  Line equipment, including the replacement of switches and other track work that will increase reliability and reduce delays.  The new switches will also reduce noise along the 31st Street corridor.

The $12.4 million project will require eight non-consecutive weekend closures between May and September. On these weekends, from 12:01 a.m. Saturday to 5 a.m. Monday, free shuttle buses will replace  service between Astoria-Ditmars Blvd and Queensboro Plaza in both directions, making stops at all affected  stations.

Crews will replace all switches along a 730-foot span of elevated track south of the Astoria-Ditmars Blvd station, as well as track panels and steel girders that support the structure. Trains will not be able to operate during this work because cranes and other heavy equipment must lift large sections of track panels from the street onto the elevated structure.  

The replacement of these switches and track panels will help reduce the amount of noise from trains along the elevated portion of the Astoria line, which runs through several residential and commercial areas as well as past P.S. 85 south of the Astoria-Ditmars Blvd station.

“We strive to be good neighbors while providing safe and reliable service, which is why we scheduled the closures during period of light ridership in order to minimize the impact to customers,” said NYCT Acting President Darryl Irick. “This work will increase reliability of service and reduce train noise – two things the community has long asked for from MTA.”

Council Member Costa Constantinides said: “This critical infrastructure improvement has been long-anticipated. The MTA’s commitment to replace switches, track panels, and steel girders will increase service reliability and will significantly mitigate noise from the overhead structure. For the entire school community at P.S. 85, this is a sigh of relief. Elementary school children should not have to bear the burden of repeated interruptions while engaging in the learning process. Their focus should be directed exclusively towards their work, teachers, and peers, not the constant bustle of a rumbling train. I am proud to announce the start of this work that my colleagues and I have so diligently advocated for. I also thank NYCT’s Acting President Darryl Irick for his support in spearheading the efforts towards getting this off the ground.”

During the scheduled work, NYC Transit representatives will be available along the shuttle bus route to assist customers. Subway customers traveling to/from 39 Av  can also use the nearby 36 St  station, and customers traveling to/from 36 Av  and Broadway  can use the Steinway St  station.

The work schedule is listed below. Work on holiday weekends such as Memorial Day and Labor Day is scheduled from 12:01 a.m. on Saturdays to 5 a.m. on Tuesdays.

• May 20-22
• Memorial Day weekend, May 27-30
• June 3-5
• August 12-14
• August 19-21
• August 26-28
• Labor Day weekend, September 2-5
• September 9-11