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  • LIRR Mainline Third Track Project

  • 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

 #1516346  by Head-end View
 
The New Hyde Park Rd. and Covert Ave. crossings are being replaced with underpasses similar to Roslyn Rd. in Mineola. The third crossing in New Hyde Park at one of the numbered streets I believe is being eliminated entirely and the road will end on both sides at the tracks. Anyone know different?
 #1516378  by MattAmity90
 
Head-end View wrote: Wed Aug 07, 2019 7:14 pm The New Hyde Park Rd. and Covert Ave. crossings are being replaced with underpasses similar to Roslyn Rd. in Mineola. The third crossing in New Hyde Park at one of the numbered streets I believe is being eliminated entirely and the road will end on both sides at the tracks. Anyone know different?
Yes, they are eliminating Covert and New Hyde Park Road with underpasses, and closing 12th street off permanently. That means one less way to get onto the other side of the tracks, instead of 3 there will only be 2. New Hyde Park Road will be eliminated using a temporary grade crossing.

1.) They will close off the 4-lane road, and reroute traffic onto a two lane road to the left of the crossing.
2.) A temporary grade crossing will exist for that duration (similar to Herricks Road minus the temporary tracks).
3.) Crossing will be dismantled as soon as the roadway is finished.

Fun fact: Even though those two crossings will be eliminated, there will still be two grade crossings for those two roads. They each have a crossing on the Hempstead Branch at Stewart Manor.

Roslyn Road was eliminated differently, they did not use the same process or Box Tunnel technique. They kept the grade crossing open, narrowed the road, and dug to the left. The project for Roslyn Road called for the elimination of the crossing, and widening Roslyn Road from 2 to 4 lanes. They skewed the road to the left and it looks like a chicane from above. It used to be straight, now it's curved.
 #1516576  by nyandw
 
MACTRAXX wrote: Wed Jul 31, 2019 9:39 amNews 12 Long Island broadcast this report (7/29) about the efforts of the Mineola Historical Society to save the Mineola Station south waiting room, Nassau Tower and the sub station building alongside:In this case Nassau Tower is right in the path of the new Third Track and the south waiting room may be too close to the new track and platform for it to be renovated and preserved. The sub station building location may allow itto be saved as is for another use.MACTRAXX
NASSAU is a "dead issue" as far as I have gathered. Merely a shell at this time and the $$$ is not there (as per usual). :-(
 #1516816  by REM3Night
 
Dropped by Carle Place to check out progress. The new East bound platform has been started and they are installing a temporary platform between it and the east bound track so the passengers don't have to jump off the train. In the past I have seen "bridges" to get to the platform - this looks much safer.
While I was there a work train ran by: 2 MP-15s, 2 flats, 2 ballast cars and a string of cars carrying wood ties (new).
Ray
 #1516884  by MattAmity90
 
I was just about to get to the fact that just like Merillon Avenue, Carle Place was having a temporary EB platform installed. Most likely they will extend the walkway to the temporary platform. As for the WB platform, they will just build the new Eastern half to coincide with the ADA-accessible pedestrian overpass.

Covert Avenue is getting set for its' new trestle which will be put in place a week and half from now. The Foreman stated, that the bridge will be moved 60 feet to the South of the pit and put in place. Exactly the same procedure done at Urban Avenue, except they will be moving the trestle South at Covert, while they moved the Urban Avenue trestle North. At Urban Avenue, they have extended the trestle. In the blueprint it not only planned to eliminate the at-grade crossing, but eliminate the intersection of Urban and Railroad Avenue. The concrete slab that will be the Railroad Avenue bridge is now under construction. After the Covert bridge is in place, they will be putting two concrete slabs on both sides of the trestle for Second Avenue and Third Avenue, eliminating two intersections.

After both grade crossings are finished, School Street and New Hyde Park Road will commence within a few weeks. NHP Road will be the most interesting regarding the reconfiguration of traffic patterns, and the temporary road set up adjacent to the worksite. School Street will be the same as Urban Avenue, except the elimination will not include intersections of road, just the grade crossing.
 #1517408  by MACTRAXX
 
Everyone:

The August 24-25 Covert Avenue crossing elimination project information has been posted by the MTA:

There will be no service at New Hyde Park, Merillon Avenue, Carle Place and Westbury Stations.

The Oyster Bay Branch will run between Mineola and Oyster Bay every two hours. Connecting bus service
will operate between Mineola and Hempstead.

Hempstead Branch service will operate half hourly with trains alternating between Penn Station and
Atlantic Terminal.

Ronkonkoma Branch trains will run hourly between Hicksville and Ronkonkoma; Port Jefferson Branch
trains will run every two hours between Hicksville and Port Jefferson. Syosset, Cold Spring Harbor and
Huntington will be served hourly.

Shuttle trains Hicksville-Bethpage-Babylon will run hourly in each direction via the Central Branch.
Babylon Branch service will be increased to handle the added ridership that is anticipated.

http://web.mta.info/supplemental/lirr/c ... ossing.htm

MACTRAXX
 #1517492  by MattAmity90
 
Aside from the Covert Avenue trestle installation this weekend, the following has happened along the Main Line:

1.) Track 1 at Hicksville is connected to an extension along the 3,000 foot extension West of the station.
2.) At Urban Avenue, the concrete retaining walls, pedestrian walkway, and the installation of the bridge that will be Railroad Avenue is ongoing. The slope is complete on the North side of the tracks, but I still think the slope on the South side is almost done even with the echo barrier fence still in existence.
3.) Carle Place is seeing concrete piers built for the Eastern half of the WB platform. Some of the old piers are still standing. A temporary EB platform is nearing installation where work will continue behind it with the new EB platform.
4.) Digging and excavation is being done between Herricks Road and Mineola.
5.) Traffic at the Nassau Blvd. bridge is one-way.
6.) Both Eastern halves of Merillon Avenue are officially closed with the railing, mushroom lights, ramps, stairs all gone. Station building is still standing but fenced off. The station is officially the first station since Massapequa Park from 1977-1980 in which service for the stop is via two 6-car length temporary high-level platforms made of wood and scaffolding. Unfortunately there is no pedestrian bridge, you must walk to Nassau Blvd. to get from A to B. It's even old school because the platform signs are just white signs with black lettering in a different font just like the mid-1970's. Even the shelters are wooden with fluorescent bulbs.
7.) New Hyde Park Road continues to be prepped for grade crossing elimination, and that's the only other activity aside from Covert Avenue that is going on there.
8.) South Tyson Avenue's new bridge came along with work on the curve of HEMPSTEAD TRACK 1. Track had to be rebuilt.
 #1517496  by REM3Night
 
Eastbound platform - the west end new platform has been built, a temporary platform has also been built and stairs to it is being built. It also looks like they are starting to build the new overpass foundation.
Ray
 #1517590  by Head-end View
 
The School St. crossing in Westbury is also being prepped for construction to start when Urban Ave. is completed. An old industrial building on the northeast corner has been torn down.
 #1517712  by MattAmity90
 
Head-end View wrote: Tue Aug 20, 2019 7:39 pm The School St. crossing in Westbury is also being prepped for construction to start when Urban Ave. is completed. An old industrial building on the northeast corner has been torn down.
That's good to know, and my guess is that the drainage ditch will be the site of that.

Round 2 of the grade crossing eliminations will be New Hyde Park Road in New Hyde Park and School Street in Westbury. Twelfth Street will be included since the new platforms at the location will coincide with the grade crossing elimination and it will be closed to vehicular traffic as if it never existed or was an intersection. The new platforms at the station of course will be 12 cars long, because the station is currently two 10-car platforms. Those extra 2 car lengths that will be added to the West will go over the site of the former crossing.
 #1518058  by bellstbarn
 
I had very little time about 4 p.m. today during an inspection of how transfers were going at Babylon, so there may be inaccuracies in my report. Metered parking was jammed, maybe because of Main Line customers realizing they may as well visit Babylon on their own instead of via a change in Hicksville. Lots marked "Permit parking only" were quite empty. Weekends, that's a waste of space. There were seven J & F Tour coach buses lined up, for what reason I could not figure out. Showing the connectivity provided by Suffolk Transit on a Saturday, one bus loaded for the destination "Central Islip Railroad Station" and a S40 for Patchogue railroad station.
---
A train of double decks was on the northside track, a short scoot on the center track, and electric trains arriving and departing on the southside track. The shuttle to Hicksville left about 4:10, then stopped at a signal before entering the Central Branch.
---
I intended to go to a platform and take a rough count of transferring passengers, but ran out of time. There were plenty of travelers milling around.
 #1518071  by MACTRAXX
 
BSB: Interesting visit to Babylon Station this Saturday afternoon 8/24...

That permit parking lot at Babylon Station has been a sore spot for commuters for decades especially
remembering how Babylon Village is about commuter parking - I believe that lot is for BV residents only.

The seven buses you spotted from a contractor may have been there "just in case" of any problems with
scheduled LIRR service - and the Suffolk Transit bus you spotted was the S42 to Central Islip by way of
Bay Shore, South Shore Mall and Islip Station...

Were you able to get any of the special schedules issued for this weekend's program from the waiting room
at Babylon Station? The (enhanced) Babylon Branch service and the Montauk Branch TT should be available...

The short train on Track 2 center was probably a Babylon-Patchogue "scoot" and the Bethpage-Hicksville
shuttle train on Track 3 - was it 8 C3 cars with locomotives on each end?

MACTRAXX
 #1518549  by REM3Night
 
The temporary platforms on the eastbound side are open. More parts of the new westbound platform are installed.
What I thought was the foundations for the new overpass is gone and there is a large hole near the old overpass.
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