Low-lying Garden City bridge getting a boost for safety

https://www.newsday.com/amp/long-island ... a-p0lah4fv

A low-lying bridge in Garden City, often struck by oversized vehicles, is getting a growth spurt, thanks to the MTA.

Over the next five weekends, crews will work to raise the height of the 152-year-old bridge that carries the LIRR Hempstead Branch across Cherry Valley Avenue, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced Tuesday. The bridge, currently 10’4” in height, has been struck by over-height vehicles more than any other in the Long Island Rail Road system, the MTA said in a news release.
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And Moriches might be next on Montauk Hwy, you never know.

Low Lying LIRR bridges, courtesy of Jeff Erlitz

Cherry Valley (Garden City) (10' 4")
Chestnut St (West of CLP) (6’ 11”)
Montauk Highway (Center Moriches) (11’ 6”)
Stephen Hands Path (Wainscott) (10’ 0”)
Cove Hollow Road (East Hampton) (8’ 5”)
Stonytown Road (Plandome) (9’ 0”)
Continental Ave (Forest Hills) (10’ 5”)
Town Line Road (Between Bridgehampton and East Hampton stations) (8’ 0”)

Anyone with other additions/corrections, please advise!

Everyone:

The Cherry Valley Avenue Bridge Raise Project is scheduled for five weekends:
Saturday-Sunday March 4-5, 11-12*, 18-19, 25-26; April 1-2, 2023 (*Separate DST weekend timetable)
Hempstead Branch terminate at Floral Park - Connecting buses to stations Stewart Manor to
Hempstead are available at BELLEROSE (Interesting choice for a substitute bus terminal station...)

Downloadable PDF schedules are available for the CVA Bridge project at:
https://new.mta.info/agency/long-island ... timetables
(Revised LIRR Branch timetables are available for all branches effective until May 21, 2023)

To look at the Cherry Valley Avenue Bridge on Google Maps Streetview enter search:
75-77 Cherry Valley Avenue, Garden City, NY 11530 (my device can not directly link)
The view looks recent with bridge work already under way - note the sign on the NW corner
wall about contacting the LIRR in the event of a bridge strike...MACTRAXX

This bridge was constructed in 1873 by the CRRLI. I do not know if the LIRR has replaced the steel on this in the over 100+ years it’s been operating the former Central.

Hopefully the construction does not deface or defile the historic stones and delete the AD1873 marking there.
And it can be preserved along with a new marking showing RBLT AD2023

Looks like they have about 300 feet of working space from Cathedral Avenue. How high are they raising the Cherry Valley Avenue bridge?

scopelliti wrote: ↑Sun Mar 05, 2023 12:30 pm Looks like they have about 300 feet of working space from Cathedral Avenue. How high are they raising the Cherry Valley Avenue bridge?

Raising it to 14 feet.

https://fpvillage.org/hempstead-line-se ... idge-work/

Suspect that the 12 inches peer weekend is the need to raise the tracks approaching the bridge on each side. Each 12 inches will require more ballast farther from the bridge. Maybe LIRR will start at the most distant point from the bridge first.

I saw Stonytown Rd. in Plandome mentioned in a list of other low bridges in the system. I recall several times in the mid-90s, while working in Plandome, that several landscapers riding up in back of their company trucks were killed or seriously injured by striking the bridge while standing up. Not good.....

Stonytown Rd. in Plandome is 9' 0" via Google Earth.

For complete information on overhead bridges, refer to the NYSDOT Oversize/Overweight map (intended for truckers). Vertical clearances for about every overhead bridge in NY State on public roads are included. Due to variations, info should be independently verified.

71st/Continental Avenue, Forest Hills is 10'-6" vertical clearance.

Cherry Valley Road is listed is 11'-3" per NYSDOT. Chestnut Street is 7'-10", which seems too high.

Montauk Branch at Richmond Hill (Jamaica & Lefferts Blvd) 11'-9", with actual signs conflicting.

https://new.mta.info/press-release/mta- ... truck-lirr

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today unveiled a new overpass in Garden City with a 14-foot, five-inch vehicular clearance that will improve safety and reduce train delays. The bridge, which carries the Long Island Rail Road’s Hempstead Branch over Cherry Valley Avenue, replaces an 1871-era structure that had a posted clearance of 10’4” and was struck by over-height trucks more frequently than any other LIRR bridge.

As part of the project, the track bed at nearby Cathedral Avenue, the railroad crossing east of Cherry Valley Avenue, was rebuilt and brought to a state of good repair.

“The LIRR continues to move forward by modernizing the system with upgraded stations, better schedules and service and resilient infrastructure,” said LIRR Interim President and Metro-North President Catherine Rinaldi. “The old bridge at Cherry Valley Avenue was hit by trucks more than any other bridge in the system, creating delays and compromising safety. The new, higher bridge creates a stronger railroad for our customers and the region.”

“Raising this bridge is yet another investment that the MTA is making to ensure that Long Islanders have a safe, modern, reliable and resilient form of transit,” said MTA Construction & Development President Jamie Torres-Springer. “On top of the billions of dollars that have been invested in high-profile projects like the Ronkonkoma double track and Main Line Third Track projects, innovative projects like this demonstrate the MTA’s ability to deliver key upgrades to core infrastructure while minimizing impacts for riders.”

LIRR crews raised the bridge that carries the LIRR Hempstead Branch 12 inches at a time (a total of 36 inches) over three consecutive weekends. On the final weekend of work, taking place Saturday, April 1 and Sunday, April 2, a new rail bridge was installed with a clearance of 14 feet 5 inches.

Raising the height of the bridge is intended to reduce strikes by overheight trucks, which pose a safety risk for drivers and delay train service. Following any incident, trains operate with slow speed orders while LIRR bridge inspectors travel to the bridge to ensure it is safe to operate at full speed.

“The newly raised Cherry Valley Avenue Bridge will make commuting safer and more reliable for Long Islanders,” said State Senator Kevin Thomas. “I applaud the MTA for working to renovate the outdated infrastructure in a timely manner and working with the Village of Garden City and residents to ensure the upgrades successfully address long-term safety risks at the railroad crossing for drivers and LIRR riders alike.”

“The safety of residents in my district is a top priority of mine, and the action that was taken to raise the bridge is a worthwhile, productive investment for improving safety in Garden City,” said Assembly Member Ed Ra. “We continue to use pertinent data and hear your voices on the changes that will make you feel safe, and I am happy to see these types of investments that will allow for drivers, train operators and riders to get to their destinations safely.”

The Hempstead Branch’s Cherry Valley Avenue Bridge was struck by vehicles 162 times over a 12-year period from 2010 to 2022. Comparatively, the second-most struck railroad bridge, located at St. James Street and Chestnut Street, also on the Hempstead Branch, was struck 50 times. Since 2018, thanks in part to the LIRR Main Line Expansion Project between Floral Park and Hicksville, the MTA has raised the heights of seven bridges in Nassau County, including what had been the third-most-struck bridge, a low-lying 1911-era bridge at Nassau Blvd. in Garden City with a clearance of 11 feet 6 inches, which was replaced in Oct. 2019, with a new bridge with a 14 foot clearance. Nearby, the MTA had replaced the frequently struck bridge carrying the LIRR Main Line over Post Avenue in Westbury in Oct. 2017, raising its height from 11 feet 10 inches to 14 feet.

The project to raise the bridge is part of an $17.7 billion investment to transform and modernize the Long Island Rail Road that is funding more than 100 projects, including the opening of service to Grand Central Madison; construction of a more spacious LIRR Concourse at Penn Station and a new entrance at 33 St.; renewal and upgrading of 36 stations and 17 bridges; activation of the Positive Train Control safety system; installation of 13 miles of second track between Farmingdale and Ronkonkoma; upgrades to 15 electrical substations; parking capacity increases; yard expansions, and more. Additionally, the MTA, together with NJ Transit and Amtrak, plans to seek federal funding to rebuild Penn Station into a world-class, single-level terminal.