Tests to require overnight closures at Hugh Carey, Queens-Midtown tunnels
The storm doors at the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel, shown here on the East Tube on the Brooklyn side, and Queens-Midtown Tunnel are aimed at "preventing water from infiltrating tunnels and causing extensive damage as was seen during Superstorm Sandy in 2012,” the MTA said. Credit: MTA
Overnight tube closures to test storm doors that could be used in weather catastrophes such as tropical storms or hurricanes will throttle traffic this month at the Hugh L. Carey and Midtown tunnels, the MTA Bridges and Tunnels agency said last week.
Each of the doors weighs more than 20 tons and is 29 feet wide, 14 feet high and almost 2 feet thick.
“In the event of a coastal storm, these doors provide the last line of defense, preventing water from infiltrating tunnels and causing extensive damage as was seen during Superstorm Sandy in 2012,” the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said in a news release.
Eight of the doors were installed eight years ago as part of the MTA’s program for flood mitigation.
“Each of the 20-plus ton steel flood doors can only be deployed when the tunnel tube is fully closed to traffic,” the MTA said in the release. “During the following times, one tube of the tunnel will be closed. One lane will be open in each direction in the remaining tube.”
Here is the closure schedule:
Hugh L. Carey Tunnel (formerly the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel)
May 7-8, 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.: Brooklyn East Tube
May 8-9, 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.: Manhattan East Tube
May 9-10, 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.: Manhattan West Tube
May 12-13, 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.: Brooklyn West Tube
Queens Midtown Tunnel
May 17, 12:01 to 8 a.m.: Queens North Tube
May 18, 1 to 9 a.m.: Manhattan North Tube
May 31, 12:01 to 8 a.m.: Manhattan South Tube
June 1, 1 to 9 a.m.: Queens South Tube
Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.
'Just disappointing and ... sad' The proportion of drivers who refused to take a test after being pulled over by trained officers doubled over five years. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports.
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