Amtrak eyes fall start for $1.6B repair job on East River Tunnel

Amtrak has confirmed that work will begin later this year to repair Superstorm Sandy damage inside the East River Tunnel linking the LIRR to Penn Station — a dozen years after the storm flooded the structures with corrosive saltwater.

Amtrak, which owns and maintains the East River Tunnel, said Monday that it awarded a contract to Skanska E-J ERT Joint Venture to carry out the $1.6 billion repair and rehabilitation project of the two tubes damaged by Sandy.

The work is expected to begin this fall, and last through 2027, Amtrak said.

In a statement, Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner called it a "consequential project" that will benefit everyone who rides a train on "America’s busiest rail corridor," including Long Island Rail Road commuters.

The October 2012 superstorm inundated two of the four tubes comprising the East River Tunnel with millions of gallons of corrosive saltwater that continues to damage infrastructure, Amtrak officials have said.

Repairs to the 114-year-old passages were once expected to begin by 2019, but faced delays, in part because transportation officials thought it best to wait until the opening of Grand Central Madison to minimize impact from the tunnel closures on LIRR riders.

Janno Lieber, chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, noted that "the LIRR is by far the biggest user of the East River Tunnels," and said the MTA is "pleased that Amtrak is now ready to award the contract and commence work."

Each of the two tubes undergoing repairs will be out of service for between a year and 18 months at a time, Amtrak officials said.

The tubes will be demolished down to their concrete liners, then rebuilt with several structural improvements, including "bench walls" that trains passengers can walk on during emergency evacuations. New signal, drainage, and fire and smoke detection systems will also be installed.

The effort is primarily funded through a $1.26 billion Federal Railroad Administration grant. Amtrak, the MTA, and NJ Transit, which also uses the tunnels, are sharing the remaining $740 million in costs.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who helped secure the federal funding, called the tunnel the most important link in the commute of hundreds of thousands of Long Islanders."

"And a problem in this vital transit link creates a nightmarish domino effect for the entire system," Schumer said. "But now commuters can rejoice because construction is about to begin."

Amtrak said it will maintain "the vast majority" of its service through the East River Tunnel throughout the project, and that the work "will also not result in a major disruption to LIRR" service. The LIRR already curtailed the number of trains it runs out of Penn Station upon the opening of Grand Central Madison last year.

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com@alfonsoreports

Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.