LIRR Mainline Third Track Project

[MattAmity90]

New Hyde Park Road this past weekend, a few days after the recent photo. All the mounds of dirt have been removed, the handrails are installed, retaining walls underneath installed, walkways being poured, and excavation basically completed.

School Street is in my opinion done with excavation on the South side. The bridge is being constructed to the North of the ROW. Carle Place has the elevator shafts receiving decor with the actual roofing coming alive, much more rosy and colorful than a week ago. Saw a hump at School Street so the tracks are higher than before for clearance.

Just noticed a new traffic light erected for NHP Road that wasn't there before too.

Top photo is Edward Hand's from July 18th, the bottom is the grade crossing before February 2020 from the website.

NHP Road looking North 7/18/20. Hand.
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NHP Road looking North pre-2020.
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Hardly recognize it.

[nyandw]

The second photo: New Hyde Park Rd. - View N 3/08/2019 Photo/Archive: Dave Morrison

[LB]

Where did the house come from in the top photo (upper left)? Did they knock a building down?

[MadManMoon]

Looks like it, based on this Google Street View image (dated October 2019):

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[Head-end View]

They tore down the industrial bldg. on the northwest corner. That house is on the next block.

[MACTRAXX]

They tore down the industrial bldg. on the northwest corner. That house is on the next block.

I will second this observation - the land was paved over
and some additional parking is being added between the station building - which is being
retained for the new platforms under construction - and New Hyde Park Road...MACTRAXX

[NIMBYkiller]

Does anyone have a link to the engineering design for Mineola? Not just a track map but I mean something like a sat view overlayed with exactly where the 3rd track will be placed? I'm trying to determine how much space will be left between the new track and the "middle" track while passing through Mineola. I would've assumed the narrowest possible spacing if it wasn't for the bridge abutment at Mineola Av

[MattAmity90]

The third track for Mineola will be laid to the South of the current tracks just like at New Hyde Park, Merillon Avenue, and Carle Place. I'm uncertain about Westbury, but it will most likely be to the South because there was a freight siding that went over School Street. Right now for Westbury, 3TC is focused on the School Street grade crossing elimination. Another dead giveaway that Mineola will see the track to the South aside from the demolition of the 100+ year old Platform B, Nassau Tower is sadly standing on its final days. Not to mention that when Roslyn Road was eliminated from 2005-2008, they added a third track space to the bridge on the South side.

I can't wait until Labor Day Weekend, which is when they anticipate New Hyde Park Road reopening to traffic. It will not only be interesting and relief, but it will mean that the 12th Street grade crossing will officially be closed permanently to traffic and diverted to NHP Road and Covert Avenue.

[nyandw]

7/2/2020 Photo: John Ciesla

7/21/2020 Photo: Dave Morrison

[Head-end View]

MattAmity90, good to hear that New Hyde Park Rd. is moving as quickly as it is. But I don't look forward to the closing of the S. 12th St. crossing. It will mean drivers will have one less way to get from one side of town to the other. And I'm sure that will cause some loss in flexibility for the police and local fire dept in its response routes though at least no one will have to worry anymore about the gates coming down when they approach the tracks.

[MattW]

Why did they not build around the south platform and make it an island platform? Was the reason ever discussed? I thought that's why the station was reconstructed in the manner it was.

[Tinyplaces]

Why did they not build around the south platform and make it an island platform? Was the reason ever discussed? I thought that's why the station was reconstructed in the manner it was.

Before the project started, there were public hearings where some suggested there be an island platform at Mineola. According to this https://www.mineola-ny.gov/sites/g/file ... ment_4.pdf

Construction of an island platform at Mineola would have residential
property impacts potentially both east and west of the station. (The new
track would have to “flare” outside the ROW approaching and leaving
Mineola Station in order to fit into an expanded, 3-platform station
footprint.) LIRR believes that the revised Nassau Interlocking
configuration (moving Nassau 1 and 3 closer to Mineola) would permit
sufficient stopping flexibility for “intra-Island” service.

[Head-end View]

Hmmm..........sounds like Nassau-1 might be back where it was originally, between Mineola Station and Herricks Rd.

[Tinyplaces]

Hmmm..........sounds like Nassau-1 might be back where it was originally, between Mineola Station and Herricks Rd.

It's between Nassau Blvd and Herricks Rd according to this :
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lPTHap ... UpfWl/view

Other Project maps can be found here (updated monthly) :https://lirrexpansion.com/project-activity-maps/

[MattAmity90]

The original NASSAU-1 was in between Mineola and the Herricks Road crossing (almost like Central Islip on Peter's Blvd today), and when the crossing was eliminated they constructed NASSAU-2 in between Roslyn Road and Carle Place. Main Street has always had the switches to divert trains to the Oyster Bay Branch.

I'm not sure where the interlockings will be placed. All I know is that NASSAU-1 is being relocated to its original spot, albeit a little further West than the original right on the Herricks Road bridge. Other than that, all I know is that the NASSAU interlocking switches at Main Street and the NASSAU interlocking switches between East Williston and Mineola will still not change. Still uncertain about the interlockings in between Merillon Avenue and New Hyde Park, and between Mineola and Carle Place right over the Meadowbrook.

Does anyone know what they are doing with that yellow portal crane near where the Long Island Motor Parkway bridge used to be?