LIRR Mainline Third Track Project

[newkirk]

Thanks mkm4 . You figure that one lane railroad bridges would be a thing of the past, they would widen it and make it triple tracked. I guess there's no money in the budget to do so. So did the Garden City residents insist on preserving the character of the crossing ? That's what I think.

More photos:
1) Merillon Ave - Westbound platform and where the new third track will be. (Photo: Bill Mangahas)


2) Detailed view of the eastbound platform. (Photo: Bill Mangahas)


3) Overlap of the eastbound temporary platform and new platform (Photo: Bill Mangahas)

[Head-end View]

Re: the Denton Ave/Tanners Pond Rd. bridge, the smart thing to do would be to widen the whole structure to make the road wider, up to modern engineering standards. But my guess is Newkirk is right about the Village of Garden City. They oppose just about everything, so yeah they probably opposed any widening of the road into their village. After all, they wouldn't want to make it easier for people from New Hyde Park to come into their village, would they? LOL

[MattAmity90]

Edward's camera along with many of us who use one, has several lens options. Telephoto seems to be his preferred angle, but he also does panoramic. It creates an optical illusion, and some of us have a hard time judging distance. The project isn't completed yet, because the lines have to be painted AND most importantly the clearance signs have to be bolted in.

One thing for sure, and I hope it doesn't happen: Someone is going to hit the SAFER Barrier on the median. Since Herricks Road was eliminated (and has the same bridge construction) several cars have slammed into the barrels on the median.

[MACTRAXX]

Seems New Hyde Park Road will still be too low for trucks.

R36, it does look low in the photo but I would guess it's 14 ft. I can't imagine they would build it too low for trucks and risk periodic strikes by large trucks like they've had with other bridges in the area.

R36, H-E View and Everyone:
The best way to get an idea on how high or low the new New Hyde Park
Road underpass is - is to go there yourself and take a good look at it.

I did just that after the Covert Avenue underpass was opened and I took
note that the height of the railroad bridge looks less than it actually is -
or that the road level is deeper than it appears in photographs.

Taking note to the recent progress such as paving the underpass at NHP
Road I hope to get to NHP at some point in the coming days...MACTRAXX

[Head-end View]

Has LIRR announced an opening date for the New Hyde Park Rd. underpass?

[MattAmity90]

They said by the first week of September, so just like Urban Avenue last year around Labor Day Weekend I guess. In addition, they said as soon as New Hyde Park Road reopens to traffic the days of New Hyde Park grade crossings will be a thing of the past. That's because with Covert Avenue and NHP Road completed, they will close the 12th Street crossing permanently to vehicles. After that is all said and done, a few weeks later they will have another weekend outage on the weekend of September 12th-13th to box-jack the School Street bridge into place. Once that is done, there will officially be no more grade crossings between Jamaica to Mineola, and Hicksville to Carle Place.

As far as Willis Avenue goes? The project page says road closes in late-2020, and is said to be completed by Spring-2021.

[newkirk]

One photo by me at Carle Place.
Questions:
1) Does Carle place have a commuter parking lot ? Both lots by the westbound platform seem to be on private property.
2) Are both platforms currently handicapped accessible ? The eastbound platform doesn't seem to.
Cherry Lane Bridge (Photo: Bill Mangahas)

[Head-end View]

MattAmity90: Those dates for Willis Ave. seem a little over optimistic. It's a more complicated job than the others because it involves both the Mainline and the Branch. Although with all the experience they've gotten in N.H.P. and Westbury, the contractors probably have it down to a science almost. LOL But even with that, it depends a lot on how severe a winter we have this coming season. A rough, snowy winter could slow things down a lot.

[Head-end View]

Newkirk: I don't think Carle Place station has a real commuter parking lot. Remember it's not a major station and I think a lot of the people who use it may walk to the station from the local neighborhood on both sides of the tracks.

Sorry, I don't know about handicapped accessibility.

[MattAmity90]

Just a quick heads up, here is Edward Hand's photo of New Hyde Park Road looking South. Line-painting operations have been completed.

New Hyde Park Road as of this past weekend.
50234053553_0aa26a5992_c.jpg (130.13 KiB) Viewed 1562 times

[Head-end View]

Looks very good. But as someone said earlier, it's just a matter of time 'til that impact device in the middle gets hit by a drunk driver. Want to bet it happens in the first month? Too bad they couldn't have used a single span without the pillar. But still a good job in a relatively short time for construction.

[MattAmity90]

Looks very good. But as someone said earlier, it's just a matter of time 'til that impact device in the middle gets hit by a drunk driver. Want to bet it happens in the first month? Too bad they couldn't have used a single span without the pillar. But still a good job in a relatively short time for construction.

In the early renderings, the New Hyde Park Road span wasn't going to have the center pillar, it was going to be similar to the Babylon Branch trestles. Then when you think about it you are looking at nearly 100 trains passing over on 3 tracks, the span has an ADA accessible walkway (Red), and unlike the other crossings it is the only 4 lane road to see elimination as part of the project. Urban, School, Willis (with 2 of them), and Covert are all 2 lanes. Roslyn Road (which is one large span without a center pillar) and Herricks Road (which has a center pillar) were 4 lanes wide both before and after their eliminations.

I was talking to my Mom yesterday at how far we've come with grade crossing elimination. She knew the sole survivor of the Herricks Road incident. She told me along with the sketches of the Babylon Branch elimination that most of the roads that were separated were widened after the crossings were eliminated. I received that picture of the Rt. 110/Broadway crossing in Amityville circa 1960. It used to be two lanes, but in the early-60's before the project they widened it to four lanes. We went over in our opinion which crossings would have the safety apparel (cantilever lights, long gates, and several lights with continuous bells. If the roads weren't widened from 1966-1980, we said that Rt.110/Broadway in Amityville, and Babylon Turnpike in Merrick would be the ones looking like New Hyde Park Road.

[MACTRAXX]

Seems New Hyde Park Road will still be too low for trucks.

R36, it does look low in the photo but I would guess it's 14 ft. I can't imagine they would build it too low for trucks and risk periodic strikes by large trucks like they've had with other bridges in the area.

R36, H-E View and Everyone:
The best way to get an idea on how high or low the new New Hyde Park
Road underpass is - is to go there yourself and take a good look at it.

I did just that after the Covert Avenue underpass was opened and I took
note that the height of the railroad bridge looks less than it actually is -
or that the road level is deeper than it appears in photographs.

Taking note to the recent progress such as paving the underpass at NHP
Road I hope to get to NHP at some point in the coming days...MACTRAXX

Everyone: I Stopped at NHP this evening 8/21 to look at the NHP
Road underpass. I was able to walk on the west pedestrian walkway and
then walked on the roadway - I was impressed how good the underpass
looks - the bridge height IS larger than recent photos show. A walkway
crossing over NHP Road parallels the tracks on the south side along W/
staircases for further access to the pedestrian ramps on both sides of
the underpass. This underpass should be ready soon for traffic...

On my stop there was some LIRR delays in both directions during the
5PM hour - at one point the 12th Street Crossing gates stayed down for
the better part of 10 minutes tying up traffic in the area. Congestion
problems caused by the NHP grade crossings - with only 12th Street
remaining-should be much less once the NHP Road underpass opens.

I began my stop using the pedestrian "duck-under" at Covert Avenue.
I watched a few vehicles - including a truck with a tall trailer go under
without any question of close clearance. Covert Avenue is well used
and now very much established.

I also took note to what I believe is the first section of the new third
track being put in place - at the new Platform B at Merillon Avenue.
With all tracks on the Main Line bidirectional Platform A is on the
north side and Platform B on the south side at all stations NHP to
Westbury inclusive in the Third Track Construction zone.

The Third Track Project seems to be running smoothly - on time and
in budget. It is interesting to note all the changes on the route...

MACTRAXX

[Head-end View]

MACTRAXX, thanks for the update!

[MattAmity90]

The other day the LIRR replied to me via their Facebook page, that New Hyde Park Road might open up this work week (August 24th-28th) possibly on Monday. Very well in the next few hours, the NHP Road grade crossing elimination project when it comes to vehicular traffic will be officially completed! This would make it the widest grade crossing to be eliminated since Roslyn Road in Mineola from 2005-2008, the third grade crossing to be eliminated on the LIRR in less than a year, and it's pretty much common sense that the 12th Street crossing's existence will only be 7 days.

Speaking of those barrels, the center pylon has flashing yellow lights that go up and down, and in yesterday's Indianapolis 500 there was a crash in the closing laps in which someone spun. Then he ricocheted off the outside wall and slammed into the barrels at the beginning of the pit wall that separates the track from pit road, and he whacked it good. The race ended under caution. We all said that one month in someone will hit the central median into the barrels. Hopefully we don't see that, but I guarantee it will happen at Thanksgiving.