Audit: MTA hasn't maintained tunnel flood doors, taken other extreme weather precautions

State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli released a report Thursday criticizing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for failing to maintain flood doors to its tunnels, as well as not taking other precautions related to extreme weather preparedness.

The audit, which covered MTA subagencies for bridges, tunnels and bus operations from 2009 to mid-2023, found that several flood doors on the Queens-Midtown and Hugh L. Carey tunnels had broken gasket seals, which could cause them to leak if deployed. It also found that the MTA failed to document inspections of large trucks used to remove snow and that it did not always follow procedures for issuing extreme weather alerts.

“While the MTA has been funding and implementing capital projects that adapt the transportation system to climate change and extreme weather, and developed plans and procedures … these plans are only as good as their execution,” DiNapoli said in a prepared statement.

The MTA accepted some of the auditors’ findings and recommendations but disputed others.

In response to the comptroller's report, MTA leaders wrote that over two decades, the agency has "taken significant strides ... to enhance its emergency preparedness and response capabilities and implement well-informed strategies to proactively mitigate the potential damage to its assets and systems."

An MTA spokesperson did not respond to Newsday’s inquiry about whether the broken gaskets have been repaired.

12 years since Superstorm Sandy

In October 2012, Superstorm Sandy killed dozens in New York, flooded the Queens-Midtown Tunnel and caused about $5 billion in damage to MTA assets.

Since then, the MTA has spent nearly $8 billion on flood resilience-related capital improvements, according to the agency. That includes the installation of the flood doors on its tunnels as well as construction of flood walls and other measures to protect critical equipment.

Resilience-related infrastructure is also included in the MTA’s 20-year needs assessment, issued in October 2023. In April 2024, the MTA issued a “Climate Resilience Roadmap” that calls for more measures to prevent flooding on subways and railways, and to protect infrastructure from extreme heat.

Broken gaskets and lack of documentation for inspections

The comptroller’s report said it identified three out of 12 flood doors on the MTA’s tunnels that had broken gaskets, which could cause leakage if used to prevent flooding. MTA Bridges and Tunnels uses a contractor to inspect, maintain and — if needed — deploy the equipment, according to the report.

In response, the MTA said it had since “formalized an annual inspection program for these assets (including their associated gaskets).” 

The comptroller also found issues at MTA vehicle depots. In four depots where auditors expected to find documentation of 336 inspections of “snow fighters” (large trucks used to remove snow), they only found 59 documented inspections. They also found that on three days when there was extreme weather — including two days when MTA bus depots flooded — authorities failed to issue weather alerts.

The MTA acknowledged the lack of documentation for the vehicle inspections, but said “a portion of the time period at issue encompassed the years of the Covid pandemic when Buses’ resources were depleted and being redeployed to tackle the most critical, urgent priorities.” It disputed the finding about the weather alerts, but said it would ensure policies are followed.

The comptroller also said the MTA's bridges and tunnels and bus operations agencies have not carried out a “systemwide risk assessment” as recommended in 2009 by the agency's Blue Ribbon Commission on Sustainability. 

The MTA said the agencywide road map from last year fulfills that recommendation, but the auditor said the road map is more general and lacks the detail that a systemwide risk assessment would entail.

In Septembe, the Queens-Midtown Tunnel was briefly shut down after contractors drilling in the East River punctured its lining, causing it to spring a leak.