Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) officials today announced forthcoming service changes for the next phase of the Rutgers Tube Rehabilitation Project. The work began in August and remains on track for completion in the spring. The twin tubes, which run between the East Broadway station in Manhattan and the York St station in Brooklyn on the  line, were damaged during Superstorm Sandy. They are the last tubes to be rehabilitated as part of post-Sandy reconstruction work.  

The next phase of work will be conducted on nights and weekends starting early next month and is expected to be substantially completed by April. The project’s 14-month overall construction will be the fastest of all Sandy tube rehabilitations.

“We are making strong progress on the Rutgers tunnel using strategies similar to those we pioneered on the  Project: use state-of-the art technology and work smarter and faster so that the project costs less and impacts fewer customers," said Janno Lieber, President of MTA Construction & Development. “We also see from our experience with Superstorm Sandy recovery, where funds from Washington were a big part of the response to that national emergency, the positive impact when the federal government steps up during a crisis to assist mass transit agencies.”

Once completed, customers will benefit from improved service reliability due to the infrastructure improvements. They'll also benefit from additional cellular service throughout the tunnel and improved ADA station components at the East Broadway station. The MTA's Construction & Development division has deployed lessons learned during the  Project, including the installation of a similar cable management racking system to the one installed in the  Line’s Canarsie Tunnel.

Infrastructure improvements such as new track, power and communication cables, signal equipment, and tunnel lighting systems will improve customer experience. Teams are also bolstering the resiliency of the pumping system, which was overwhelmed with more than 1.5 million gallons of water during the 2012 storm. The Rutgers Tube rehabilitation is the first of its kind to fully utilize the fast-track “design-build” approach, rather than design-bid-build. Design-build harnesses innovation and makes projects more efficient by having a single vendor be responsible for both design and construction.

The project has made significant progress this fall during the first phase of work. Notable accomplishments include: 

• Completed over 9,000 linear feet of track replacement with new continuously welded rail 
• Installed approximately 7,500 linear feet of a new cable management rack system 
• Completed wall tile demolition and removal, and leak mitigation, at East Broadway station

Service Plan: 

•  trains will be rerouted over the  line between 36 St in Queens and West 4 St, and via the  line between West 4 St and Jay St-MetroTech. 

•  trains will be rerouted over the  line between 36 St in Queens and a temporary terminal at Delancey St in Manhattan. This change will accommodate the changes to  service above to provide the same level of service on 6 Av.  

• East Broadway and York St  stations will be closed during these periods. The World Trade Center  station will also be closed.
• Free shuttle buses will be available to take customers between Delancey St and East Broadway stations. 
• Customers at York St will be directed to take the existing B67 or a shuttle bus to Jay St-MetroTech. 
• Customers at World Trade Center can take ,  and  trains at Chambers St or  and  trains at Park Place.
• ADA customers should transfer to ,  or  trains at 42 St-Port Authority or  and  trains at Fulton St for the accessible Chambers St  station. 
• Service changes may vary on select dates due to other work in the system. Please check the project microsite at https://new.mta.info/projects/rutgers for the latest info.

Weekday and Weekend Work Schedule

Weeknights: 10:00 p.m. until 5:00 a.m. the next day 

January 4-7, 2021 

January 11-14, 2021 

January 18-21, 2021 

January 25-28, 2021 

February 1-4, 2021 

February 8-11, 2021 

February 15-18, 2021 

February 22-25, 2021 

March 8-11, 2021 

March 15-18, 2021 

March 22-25, 2021

Weekends: 10:00 p.m. Friday until 5:00 a.m. Monday, every weekend from January 1-March 29, 2021

The subway system remains closed between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. for disinfecting.