The East Side Access Project Discussion (ESA)

Major work for ML 2&4 Cut and Throw is this weekend:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71yuNz9sf7E" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Fan Railer wrote:Major work for ML 2&4 Cut and Throw is this weekend:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71yuNz9sf7E" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Cool video! Is there any more weekend service disruptions due to ESA work?

Frank wrote:

Fan Railer wrote:Major work for ML 2&4 Cut and Throw is this weekend:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71yuNz9sf7E" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Cool video! Is there any more weekend service disruptions due to ESA work?

Depends on the work being done. The track outage situation in and around Harold is very dynamic and can change at a moment's notice.

Fan Railer wrote:

Thomas wrote:

lpetrich wrote:They should be starting work on most of the remaining parts of the project over the next 2 or 3 years. Most of these should be done by 2018, with a few by 2019.

1. Then why is it likely for LIRR ESA revenue service to begin in 2023?!

2. Also, NY is looking--seriously looking--into bringing the 2024 Olympics to NYC. Governor Cuomo is eyeing development over Sunnyside Yards for the Olympic Village. Thus, if this occurs, would a new LIRR station likely get built for new trains traveling to/from Grand Central?

jlr3266 wrote:There are a LOT of systems to install and test before trains even run and crews are qualified.

As for a station...that ship has sailed a loooooong time ago. There is no realistic location between Woodside and GCT/Hunterpoint.

Also, to add on, any such station (were it possible) would be in VERY close proximity to Woodside and the new Sunnyside station anyway. If people from the "planned olympic village" wanted to go to GCT, there are plenty of other options in the area, namely the 7 train, or the E to the 6, the R to the 4,5,6, and possibly a few buses (not entirely positive about that last one, but you get my point).

If they want to deck over the yard for an olympic village, you can bet that will affect the ESA opening timeline negatively. It won't happen anytime soon given the opposition to the last time it was proposed.

More major track work at Harold this weekend:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvPb3V_rsx0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Read the video description for more information.

I saw an excellent show on WNYE the other night about the work boring the tunnels deep under Park Avenue. Link The show was a rerun of an episode that originally appeared on the History Channel about six years ago. Sandhogs: Band of Brothers. I think the episode I saw was episode 10 and it will be reshown on WNYE on Sunday at 1200 PM. Schedule

Watching the crews at work you begin to realize that when project people talk about the complexity and difficulty of the job they're not just mouthing cliches. The ESA project has been widely criticized for falling behind schedule. Watching the episode you see vividly how much pressure the construction crews are under to meet the schedule and how difficult it is for them to do that.

At the start of the episode the boss says he wants to bore 25 feet on this day. Instead they do 18 inches. Why? Problems with the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) which the workers call The Mole. The Mole's cutting head has forty-five diamond drill bits. All forty-five must stay precisely aligned in order to drill a properly aligned tunnel. When they start drilling they constantly monitor the rock being carried away on the conveyor belt. The rock should be pulverized, any big pieces indicate one or more bits has become misaligned. When that happens -- and on the episode it happens almost immediately -- they have to stop and physically inspect the cutting face. They find one of the bits has not only become misaligned, on closer inspection they discover it's mount is broken. Workers have to crawl into the space and weld a repair. A slow dangerous job.

In another part they have to move the Mole which runs on tracks. They have a derailment. This requires jacking up the Mole and putting cribbing in, a very risky job. Once they get the Mole jacked up they discover another problem: one of the steel supports is broken. Now they switch to airbags to lift the Mole up. It was amazing to me to see, how 'hands-on' a job like this is. These guys are risking life and limb to get this project finished. They spend a lot of time down in the muck on their hands and knees.

Part of this episode also shows sandhogs blasting the entry cavern for the 7 Train extension to the Javits Center. They run into constant problems too.

It was an excellent episode. I'd love to buy a copy but have been unable to find a source.

I was reading about the new LIRR captal plain for the next 4 years and see the third track project was not included.

"LIRR Commuter Council chairman Mark Epstein said while the MTA is proposing to spend "a significant sum" on the railroad, it is not moving ahead with a long-debated plan to add a third track to the Main Line, "which is necessary to take full advantage of East Side Access.""

http://www.newsday.com/long-island/mta- ... -1.9389792" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The only thing I read in the latest Capital Plan that was third mainline track related was that the Post Avenue bridge replacement in Westbury will include a third bank for the future third track.

Can someone please explain why Long Island track workers can lay good track quickly and better than metro north while still being under the mat umbrella , Harold is really coming along ...can't wait for the old remaining switches to be replaced. Good job lirr track department!!

I found the quarterly reports' home page: mta.info | Capital Programs East Side Access The most recent progress report is 2014 Q2, a quarter ahead of what I'd reported on earlier. Changes:

• CM004 -- 44th St. ventilation system -- is still not done yet. 98.80% is not quite 100.00%.
• CM006 -- "Manhattan North Structures" -- has started. Should be done early 2017.
• CM013 -- 50th St. ventilation system - done.
• FHA03 -- HI Amtrak parts -- has started. Should be done by late 2018.
• CS179 -- "Facilities System Construction" -- has started. Should be done by late 2019.

MTA Long Island Rail Road customers traveling to and from New York City this coming weekend should build in extra travel time to anticipate the possibility of train delays and service disruptions as the LIRR undertakes an important phase of the East Side Access project, which will require closing two of four East River Tunnels connecting Queens to Manhattan and Penn Station.

Beginning at 10 p.m. on Friday, December 5 and continuing through 5 a.m. on Monday, December 8, the LIRR will be installing a portion of a new computerized signal system that will control train travel through an area in Sunnyside, Queens known as Harold Interlocking. Harold is the nation's busiest commuter rail intersection used every day by the LIRR, Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT.

This is the first in a series of necessary "cutovers" to this improved technology that will be occurring during the next several years. When complete, East Side Access will speed up travel for Long Islanders by transporting them to Grand Central Terminal and the East Side of Manhattan for the first time.

"This work is necessary to keep the East Side Access project moving forward. We urge customers to build in extra travel time during the weekend, especially in this busy holiday period," said LIRR President Patrick A. Nowakowski. "We are hopeful that by working with Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT we will be able to minimize service interruptions, but we wanted to alert customers to the possibility of delays and urge them to plan accordingly."

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Link to press release
http://web.mta.info/supplemental/lirr/L ... _03_14.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What enhancements over the old system does the new signal system that was just cut over at Harold have? Are there some newly designated segments of the old Harold Plant, such as H3 and H4? Is Point a segment of the old Harold plant?
Andy
Jacksonville, FL

Frank wrote:Cool video! Is there any more weekend service disruptions due to ESA work?

You can expect them regularly for the next several years. For the most part, the Main Line is flexible enough on weekends to allow them to use just two tracks, and then use bridgeplates/temporary platforms for those boarding/alighting at WDD, FHL, or KGN. There's a number of big signal cutovers like the one that happened over the weekend still coming (the number was mentioned at last week's meeting, but I don't recall it off the top of my head), and there's still going to be lots of scattered outages within the interlocking for the next few years.

Update on new MTA LIRR Mid Suffolk Yard which is basically the expansion of the current Ronkonkoma yard. Expansion is part of the ESA project.
http://youtu.be/NI1Br0nUEw4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

twropr wrote:What enhancements over the old system does the new signal system that was just cut over at Harold have? Are there some newly designated segments of the old Harold Plant, such as H3 and H4? Is Point a segment of the old Harold plant?
Andy
Jacksonville, FL

Harold is being broken up into six smaller interlockings (H1 through H6) to handle ESA. Point has also been upgraded and F Interlocking connections were relocated.