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  • Discussion of the past and present operations of the Long Island Rail Road.
Discussion of the past and present operations of the Long Island Rail Road.

Moderator: Liquidcamphor

 #1519546  by MattAmity90
 
Head-end View wrote: Sat Sep 07, 2019 7:05 pm Yes Urban Ave. is open to the public. I drove thru the underpass Friday morning. And it is narrow. One normal width lane in each direction. It's a little bizarre, how different the place looks from what was there before.
I was thinking it was close quarters, but you can only work with the amount of space given to you. Looking at Covert Avenue, that underpass is going to be probably even more narrow. When they did the ribbon cutting ceremony, I was amazed at the transformation in just a little over a year. To think that the road used to be flat, and now it is 11 feet lower (the tracks were raised 3 feet). Construction is still not completed since the intersection of Railroad and Urban was also eliminated, and they are in the process of widening the span above to do so. As soon as they cleanup there, they head to School Street to eliminate.
 #1519561  by Head-end View
 
Matt, are you sure about the tracks being raised three feet? This is the first I've heard of that.

And yes, although the underpass is open, there is still construction going on above where Railroad Ave. will now cross over Urban Ave.
 #1519586  by MattAmity90
 
Head-end View wrote: Sun Sep 08, 2019 6:31 pm Matt, are you sure about the tracks being raised three feet? This is the first I've heard of that.

And yes, although the underpass is open, there is still construction going on above where Railroad Ave. will now cross over Urban Ave.
They said that the clearance of the bridge was going to be 14 feet, and they dug enough for an eleven foot clearance. It said that the tracks would be raised a further three feet so that trucks could pass under it. It doesn't look like much though, but most of it was due to the abundance of ballast that was dumped on top of the bridge. The problem is that you can't see the level change unless you are on top of a bridge.
 #1519914  by BM6569
 
"Construction work by the LIRR on the Nassau Boulevard Bridge and the New Hyde Park Road grade crossing will cause road closures and new traffic patterns in Garden City in the coming weeks.

According to the village, the LIRR is planning to replace the Nassau Boulevard Bridge over the weekend of Oct. 4 through 6.

In order to complete the work, the LIRR will be shutting down a section of Nassau Boulevard and diverting traffic. From Sept. 30 through Oct. 8, Nassau Boulevard will be closed between Atlantic Avenue and Main/Merillon Avenue to both pedestrian and vehicle traffic."

https://patch.com/new-york/gardencity/l ... city-roads
 #1520120  by MattAmity90
 
I know that the bridge for Railroad Avenue that will go above Urban Avenue and run parallel to the ROW is closing in on being completed. I'm just wondering close to completion are we for Railroad Avenue to reopen to traffic?

New Hyde Park Road now has jersey barriers that are separating the road for the temporary grade crossing while the original undergoes elimination via box tunnel technique. I'm wondering when the slated date will be when the road is closed and funneled to two lanes.

At Covert Avenue, how far along are we to seeing the road reopen to traffic? I know the bridge was put in place a month ago, and that the 2nd and 3rd Avenue bridge spans will be laid soon. Are they close to paving the road, because the last image I saw of the site was a few days after the trestle installation?
 #1520345  by RidingSolo
 
I am trying to wrap my head around the logistics of constructing two new platforms as well as adding a third rail at the site of the current New Hyde Park Station. I know that the new platforms will be situated west of the existing platforms. And I know they have to build the east bound (southside) platform further south than the existing platform in order to add the third track. So, what are the chronological steps to do this and how will the commuters exit the east bound trains at the station during all of this? I'm sure commuters will continue to exit on the existing platform while the new one is built. But at some point, the old one will need to be removed to accommodate the new track, meaning there will be the width of the new track between the train and the new platform until the third track in in place and running. How is this done?
 #1520398  by MattAmity90
 
Just like what they are doing at Carle Place and Merillon Avenue, they will construct temporary platforms next to the current two tracks. Behind those temporary platforms, pier supports will be laid, with the new permanent Platform B built behind it. Most likely these temporary platforms will actually be a temporary station located further West. At Merillon Avenue, they constructed two 6-car platforms closer to NASSAU Interlocking about 100'-200' further West than the original platforms.

At New Hyde Park, the temporary platforms or station could possibly be built in the same spot as the Westernmost 6-cars of the current station. Currently they have a pile driver in place at the New Hyde Park Road grade crossing, where they will reduce traffic to two lanes with a temporary grade crossing while the box-tunnel method is performed to eliminate the original crossing. Covert Avenue will reopen to traffic soon, and that will see an influx of extra traffic since the project calls for the permanent closure of 12th Street to vehicular traffic as if a grade crossing was never there.

There will be a modern inconvenience because when they lay the third track, Platform A will see the influx of traffic with the Track 2 being an express track. Should only take a few weeks as I've been documenting the replacement of rail and ties on the Ronkonkoma Branch to tackle increased service. They have been working around the clock to get the track finished by October.
 #1520422  by Head-end View
 
My guess is that the South 12th St. crossing won't actually be closed off until both Covert Ave. and the New Hyde Park Rd. underpasses are completed. It would make sense to keep as many possible crossings open until all the underpasses are completed to compensate for the loss of the one crossing.
 #1520436  by Teutobergerwald
 
How has this project affected NY & Atantic's oil customer in New Hyde Park? I believe they use the beginnings of a spur that once extended to Nassau Terminal Road????
 #1520442  by nyandw
 
Teutobergerwald wrote: Wed Sep 18, 2019 9:56 pm How has this project affected NY & Atantic's oil customer in New Hyde Park? I believe they use the beginnings of a spur that once extended to Nassau Terminal Road????
Referring to Hart Fuel Co., New Hyde Park Oil Terminal (former Plaza Fuel Co.*), or another customer?
 #1520707  by RidingSolo
 
Ok, so if they construct temporary platforms west of where the current platforms are, and the temporary platforms are located along the current two tracks, at some point when they remove the temporary south platform, will all the easterly trains that are due to stop at New Hyde Park then use the north platform while they lay the new track on the south side? Be nice if there were diagrams showing the step-by-step process. I am just curious how they will do it -- seems like it would have to be a major disruption to get it done, but I know somehow it won't be. I have been taking the train to and from NHP every day for the last 25 years and cannot wait until the at-grade crossings are gone. I have to cross them to park and then walk across to get to platform and then have to cross to get the car and then drive across to go home. This is a long time coming for me!
 #1520881  by Tinyplaces
 
The only diagrams I've seen of this project can be found here: https://lirrexpansion.com/project-activity-maps/
Here's New Hyde Park Station : https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mpq2a7 ... sp=sharing

When it comes to the temporary platform and laying down new track. I imagine what they will do is lay new track for the length of a station, station by station, over a few weekends and then put the temporary platforms right on top of the new track so they don't lose the existing two tracks while the project is ongoing. The Temp platforms I've seen them use can be placed on top of existing track.
Here's an example of what I mean: https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-SyMJ ... 520005.jpg
 #1521120  by RidingSolo
 
Thank you Tiny -- I can wrap my head around that! So, it would appear that the new track would be laid west to east, with the temporary platform over the new track to the west of the existing platform and then eliminate the existing platform continue to lay the track going west to east.
 #1521315  by MACTRAXX
 
BM6569 wrote: Thu Sep 12, 2019 2:57 pm "Construction work by the LIRR on the Nassau Boulevard Bridge and the New Hyde Park Road grade crossing will cause road closures and new traffic patterns in Garden City in the coming weeks.

According to the village, the LIRR is planning to replace the Nassau Boulevard Bridge over the weekend of Oct. 4 through 6.

In order to complete the work, the LIRR will be shutting down a section of Nassau Boulevard and diverting traffic. From Sept. 30 through Oct. 8, Nassau Boulevard will be closed between Atlantic Avenue and Main/Merillon Avenue to both pedestrian and vehicle traffic."

https://patch.com/new-york/gardencity/l ... city-roads
BM and Everyone: The LIRR has posted the information on the Nassau Boulevard bridge replacement on the
weekend of October 5-6. This is similar to the previous Covert Avenue program in terms of service with the
addition of cross-honoring LIRR tickets on NICE Bus routes N22 and N24 between Hicksville and Mineola.

http://web.mta.info/supplemental/lirr/n ... cement.htm

I visited the Merillon Avenue Station in the past week to take a look at the two temporary platforms and the
new bridge - which is placed in the parking lot adjacent to the currently removed east end of Platform A.

The only pedestrian walkway between Platforms A and B at Merillon Avenue is at the Nassau Boulevard
underpass - I noticed that the closure time period looks to be minimal being the only crossing point.
Earlier postings about the bridge project mentions that the pedestrian access will be closed from
Friday October 4 (PM) until Monday morning October 7 between platforms at Merillon Avenue.

Good weather is forecast for this upcoming weekend which certainly helps matters...MACTRAXX
 #1521763  by MattAmity90
 
Thanks to the fact that the Nassau Boulevard bridge is at this moment right now being replaced, it has given the opportunity for other modernization projects to move forward.

1.) The bridge is gone, and the new one is being moved gently into place. Road seems to have wood planks set up, but then again the clearance was only 11'6" so I guess they will depress the road for a higher clearance.

2.) New crossover switches are being set in place at NASSAU2 between New Hyde Park and Merillon Avenue.

3.) Covert Avenue is within 2 weeks of having traffic opened back up. On both sides the slopes gradually go down, it has been smoothed out so there is no friction. Both the 2nd and 3rd Avenue spans have been erected, and the road might be paved next week. As far as Urban Avenue, I'm not sure how far along they are with Railroad Avenue. The last picture I saw had the bridge in, cement being prepped for sidewalks, and outlines so they don't put tar over the drains.
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