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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

 #1554016  by MattAmity90
 
School Street grade crossing is officially grade-separated as box-jacking of the U-Tunnel/Trestle has been completed this past weekend. Unlike the other crossings that have been eliminated since 2019, the bridge is green instead of yellow. I also thought that a pedestrian walkway next to the roadway was not going to be a thing. Surfacing has begun immediately as the corrugated steel on the North side will be torn down to make way for sloping the road. First picture is before the project around 2015, while the second is on October 4th, 2020. Since early-2019 in order, the following crossings have been eliminated:

1.) Urban Avenue in Westbury (March 2019-September 2019).
2.) Covert Avenue in New Hyde Park (April 2019-October 2019).
3.) New Hyde Park Road in New Hyde Park (February 2020-August 2020).
4.) School Street in Westbury (May 2020-November or December 2020).
School Street looking North 2015.
School Street looking North 2015.
51-0.jpg (27.74 KiB) Viewed 1739 times
School Street looking North 10/4/2020.
School Street looking North 10/4/2020.
50418855978_2633605ede_c.jpg (151.14 KiB) Viewed 1739 times
 #1554068  by Head-end View
 
The other bridges are brown, aren't they? Not yellow? Isn't the Cherry Lane bridge in Carle Place also green? Which I think looks much better than brown. Don't know the reason for the difference.

I stood on the platform at Westbury Station today and watched an approaching train ramp up over the new bridge and then down again. Does anyone here know how many feet the tracks were raised at both School St. and Urban Ave?
 #1554146  by MattAmity90
 
I'm not sure, but they guaranteed a 14' clearance from the bottom of the bridge to the roadway. It's odd, they didn't have a pedestrian walkway in the blueprints for School Street, unless I'm mixing that up with the blueprints for Willis Avenue next year. The colors of the bridges I'm referring to are the novel ones pushed into place at grade crossing separation sites. Covert, NHP, and Urban are brown and yellow. School is green and brown, and I have no idea what Willis will be.
 #1554237  by CTG
 
Head-end View wrote: Wed Oct 07, 2020 2:39 pm They don't plan to have a pedestrian walkway in the Willis Ave. underpasses?
No. There will still be a pedestrian and vehicle grade crossing for the Oyster Bay Branch as well as an underpass. The Main Line will have a pedestrian overpass that appears to have both stairs and an elevator on each side.

If you go to https://www.amodernli.com/project/willi ... imination/ and then click on Project Gallery you can see it well in Picture #23 of 28.
 #1554244  by Head-end View
 
All good for people at Willis Ave. but I thought that pedestrian overpass was going to be built at Main St. replacing the grade crossing that's being permanently closed. So now there will be no way for pedestrians to cross the tracks at Main St. ? That stinks. I don't think people will want to walk over to Mineola Blvd. or Willis Ave. to cross the tracks.
 #1554268  by daybeers
 
Not having pedestrian access while spending lots of money for lots of space for cars is ridiculous. Not familiar with LI at all but I am also disappointed to see no bicycle facilities. I have heard it is not friendly to bike in.
 #1554279  by mkm4
 
Head-end View wrote: Wed Oct 07, 2020 6:53 pm All good for people at Willis Ave. but I thought that pedestrian overpass was going to be built at Main St. replacing the grade crossing that's being permanently closed.
Main Street Grade Crossing Elimination
In consultation with the Village of Mineola, vehicular traffic across the LIRR tracks is being permanently closed. A pedestrian bridge with elevators will be constructed over the tracks, and vehicular traffic is being diverted to Mineola Boulevard or Willis Avenue, both within a quarter-mile from Main Street.
 #1554318  by MattAmity90
 
Obviously unlike the four grade crossings being eliminated with their box bridges, Willis Avenue will be the most challenging, yes even more challenging than grade separating New Hyde Park Road with a four-lane wide bridge with pillar.

Willis Avenue is going to be more of a box-tunnel instead of a bridge. The road's two grade crossings (Oyster Bay and Main Line) will be separated from Willis only. The Oyster Bay crossing will be modified since the road will be running under it, the roadway going under an existing grade crossing. Either way the road will go under both lines, and under an actual grade crossing.

Merillon Avenue's new Platform A looks like it will be in service in a few weeks since the Solari signs are now lit.
 #1554557  by REM3Night
 
Head-end View wrote: Mon Oct 05, 2020 7:04 pm The other bridges are brown, aren't they? Not yellow? Isn't the Cherry Lane bridge in Carle Place also green? Which I think looks much better than brown. Don't know the reason for the difference.

I stood on the platform at Westbury Station today and watched an approaching train ramp up over the new bridge and then down again. Does anyone here know how many feet the tracks were raised at both School St. and Urban Ave?
School Street and Cherry Lane bridges are green. Roslyn Road is also green (different shade or faded). Post Avenue is rust color - I believe that it is a rust that is protective.
 #1554559  by REM3Night
 
REM3Night wrote: Sun Sep 27, 2020 5:43 pm They removed the ballast that was between the ties - not under.
Last night they brought in the ballast train and dropped the ballast. Today I went over around noon and the ballast was in and they were reinstalling the third track. Usually the third rail is attached to a special long wood tie. With the concrete ties they attach a metal "bracket" and attach the third rail.
The new ties start just east of the Ellison Avenue bridge and extend well west of Carle Place (beyond view).
This weekend (October 10-11) they replaced the ties (with concrete ties) through the Westbury station. Last weekend they replaced the ties in New Cassel. Concrete ties (Westbound) now run from New Cassel through Westbury and Carle Place. It is hard to view where they start and finish. Hicksville still has wood ties and as far west as can be seen from the platform.
 #1554569  by Head-end View
 
This past weekend I looked carefully at the School St. underpass from as close as I could get to it. It looks like southbound traffic will still go up the hill from Union Ave. and then down into the underpass. I'm curious why they didn't just make the road horizontal from Union Ave. to the underpass instead of going up and then down again. Seems to me they could have dead-ended Center St. at School St. and restricted access to the row of stores to one entrance/exit from Union Ave. only. Then the road wouldn't have to go uphill to meet that side street and store parking lot.
 #1554601  by freightguy
 
With four-of-eight railroad crossings eliminated and six-of-seven bridges rebuilt or upgraded, among other accomplishments, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced that construction of the LIRR Expansion Project has hit the halfway point, ahead of schedule and under budget.

The project, one of the largest transportation infrastructure projects in North America, will introduce 10 miles of new track between Floral Park and Hicksville. It is being managed by the new MTA Construction & Development (C&D) agency created to expedite how the MTA plans and builds projects. Many projects, such as this, are working under the successful design-build model that has fostered innovation and incentivized faster work with less community disruption.

C&D is working quickly and efficiently to get a number of projects done following a successful summer of accomplishments, including the School Street undergrade crossing, which is scheduled to open to traffic in November, months before originally scheduled. Final bridge installation, using the innovative box-jacking method, was completed Oct. 5. The eastern portions of the Merillon Avenue Station platforms, in Garden City, will open to commuters this month and temporary station platforms will be demolished.

“This project continues to move forward at a remarkable pace and under budget, and is a model for how the MTA can deliver large infrastructure projects better, faster and cheaper,” said Janno Lieber, president of MTA Construction & Development. “We’re especially proud of the work we are doing to maintain progress throughout the COVID pandemic—communicating and enforcing safe work practices, conducting field inspections remotely by using Go-Pro cameras, providing PPE. In many cases we’ve taken advantage of low ridership to actually accelerate work during the COVID crisis.”

“This critical project has already delivered substantial improvements to our infrastructure that have translated into better service for our customers, and we’re excited for all that’s to come,” said Phil Eng, president of MTA Long Island Rail Road. “Providing more reliable, robust, and safe service–with a stellar customer experience–is our goal every day here at the railroad, and each of these individual milestones get us closer to delivering a world-class transportation system for our customers. Projects like these help neighboring communities, foster economic growth, and will ultimately help our region rebound and rebuild during this pandemic.”

The installation of elevators at the Floral Park station making it fully ADA compliant is nearing completion and the completion of Carle Place Station is expected this winter. Other work along the main line between Floral Park and Hicksville includes:

A drop off/pick-up roundabout on Stonehinge Lane at Carle Place Station;
Art glass installation on new Carle Place Station buildings;
Exterior renovations and other enhancement work continues at New Hyde Park Station;
Final work on Harrison Avenue Parking Structure in Mineola;
Early work pile driving and preparation for Willis Avenue grade-crossing elimination;
Excavation and construction of foundations as part of Mineola Station enhancement and reconstruction;
Elevator installation and final work at Westbury North Parking Structure;
Sound wall construction;
Sidewalks and landscaping installation;
Foundations and utility installation at various substations;
Permanent utility installation work that includes cable relocation;
Testing and commissioning new Nassau 1 interlocking;
Installation of new switches at Nassau 3 Interlocking;
Early work preparation of Denton Avenue/Tanners Pond Road Bridge replacement;
Regular track inspection and maintenance, rail tie replacement and grade-crossing elimination preparatory work along the right-of-way.
As the LIRR Expansion Project hit its halfway point, a number of important milestones were reached during the dog days of summer. Despite a national pandemic, notable construction continued with protocols developed to keep workers safe.

Among the completed projects was the replacement of the Glen Cove Road bridge. Using a method successfully employed at Nassau Boulevard and Cherry Lane among other locations, the new bridge was built on-site, and then during a weekend double track service outage on June 29 the old two-bay bridge was removed and replaced with a new three-bay bridge to accommodate the future third track.

Just a couple of months later on Aug. 24, the New Hyde Park Road undergrade crossing was opened ahead of schedule, less than seven months after the roadway was closed. The crossing was the third to be eliminated, following Urban Avenue and Covert Avenue. In an incredible feat of engineering, the railroad bridge and U-structure was pushed into place during a double track service outage using a series of hydraulic jacks after being constructed on-site.

As the summer came to a close, MTA C&D achieved two more milestones. The steel structure for the Meadowbrook Parkway’s third bay was installed on Sept. 18 and the first section of the third track was installed at the Merillon Avenue station.

In all, when the LIRR Expansion Project is completed, eight grade crossings will have been eliminated, seven bridges replaced or expanded, five stations completely rebuilt, 10 miles of a third track installed and infrastructure such as power substations and interlockings built.
 #1554669  by MattAmity90
 
The temporary Platform A is now demolished with the new Platform A at Merillon Avenue in service. Platform B there has seen the temporary platform shifted further East, with a section of third track running over Nassau Blvd.

Metal poles continue to be erected along the right of way, NASSAU-1 has new switches that will be connected to future switches from the new third track. Construction of the new NASSAU-3 continues just East of Roslyn Road.

Carle Place's temporary Platform B has been shifted further East. Concrete rail ties and resurfacing of Track 1 goes from I think NASSAU-3 to the Western part of DIVIDE. To go with it, nearly 35,000 feet of sound wall has been erected. I can't believe that the last time I was at Carle Place, nothing was done to it yet. It is not the same Carle Place I know down the street from my Dad's place!

As far as Westbury goes, I'm only paying attention to School Street. The slope is completed, but constructing the pedestrian walkway is now just starting. It turns out the bridge is only 40 feet long.
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