It might be a new year, but the third track project is still chugging along in local communities such as Floral Park and New Hyde Park.
Excavation work has begun for the new Plainfield Avenue bridge in Floral Park, which is one of several bridges that have been or will be replaced as part of the project. Once the excavation is completed, work will start on the bridge abutment.
The Plainfield Avenue bridge will receive a new single-track span to accommodate the additional track with the third track project. In service since 1958, the 12’-9” bridge will have a new height clearance of 14,’ which will allow trucks to safely pass underneath. Work on the Plainfield Avenue Bridge follows the completion by the MTA of five major LIRR bridge projects last year alone.
The bridge is expected to be completed by the end of spring 2020.
New Hyde Park also has some new bridges on 2nd and 3rd Avenues, which run parallel to the Covert Avenue rail road tracks.
“We have four more existing bridges to replace and six more at-grade crossings to eliminate over the next 35 months,” MTA Chief Development Officer Janno Lieber said. “The LIRR Expansion Project is moving forward at an extraordinary pace, which is why it is the model project for how we are changing the way we manage large capital projects to do them smarter, faster and better.”
However, some residents aren’t convinced that the Plainfield Avenue bridge is necessary or that it benefits the village.
“The other Plainfield LIRR bridge (Hempstead line) is 300 feet away and is still 12 feet,” resident Sal Bonagura said. “What was the point?”
Resident William Schneider thinks there’s another motive for the bridge replacement.
“This is probably raised to accommodate heavy truck traffic to supply the Belmont [arena],” he said. “[There is] no benefit to the residents [of] Floral Park that I can see.”
For more information on the third track project and what’s happening in the community, visit amodernli.com.
