At a hastily-arranged MTA board meeting Tuesday, board members, the public and city officials grilled a panel of engineers overseeing the new bombshell changes announced by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to cancel the dreaded L train shutdown. Board members used the more than three hour meeting to press experts with WSP for details—the contractor that planned the initial shutdown and is now tasked with overseeing the new approach. The tense meeting delved into a slew of board member concerns including the quality of the new plan’s work, silica dust mitigation, and calls for a thorough, independent review of the proposal. One board member, Andrew Saul, called the sudden overhaul “just another complete MTA disaster.” “It must be unbelievable the time and money expended here and now we’re making an abrupt change,” said Saul, who is recovering from back surgery and phoned in to the meeting. A staggering amount of project details were reviewed during Tuesday’s forum, yet crucial questions on the plan still remain. Here are five key takeaways on what to know from the emergency meeting. The MTA’s Capital Construction division will take over the project. The MTA announced during Tuesday’s meeting that the project will be passed to the agency’s Capital Construction division, led by chief development officer Janno Lieber, with managing director Veronique Hakim supervising portions of the project. Capital Construction has helmed projects including the Second Avenue Subway and East Side Access—both of which went over the expected timeline and budget. New York City Transit President Andy Byford—who was mostly mum during the hours-long meeting—was originally heading NYCT’s planning process for the shutdown, and had pledged to bring in an independent panel to review the new proposal. But the MTA board’s own plan to hire an independent consultant to review the project will likely supersede Byford’s plans, said Shams Tarek, a MTA spokesman. “Andy is responsible for, among other things, running the biggest rail system in North America,” acting MTA chairman Fernando Ferrer said of Byford’s project responsibility. “On the L train, he’s responsible for service, communication with customers and all the other things, alternate service plans, that are involved in the L train renewal.” How will the new racking system work, and how is it different from previously proposed methods? Gov. Cuomo’s engineering experts torpedoed the original plan to shutter the Canarsie Tunnel for 15 months by recommending that power cables embedded in the tunnel’s bench wall—a ledge that runs along the base of the tube used by workers—instead be hung on racks along the tunnel and wrapped in fiberglass-reinforced polymer. Transit officials considered mounting cables to the tunnel walls in 2014, but were advised against the method because of concerns over wall damage and kicking up lung-damaging silica dust, The New York Times reported. But WSP senior vice president Jerry Jannetti told MTA board members Tuesday that the method they intend to use is “something different” from what was initially looked at and makes racking the cables in the tunnel feasible. “The major difference is that all the cables were bolted to the walls versus now being on the rack,” Jannetti said. “That’s a big change—that’s very different from what was done in 2014.” The racking system uses 60 percent fewer bolts than if the cables were individually bolted to the tunnel. Asked about the potential for leaks, Jannetti noted that the bolts being used are 3.5 to 4 inches long and that the tunnel has a 10-inch thick concrete liner—providing a “fair distance” between the bolts and the liner. WSP engineer Mike Abrahams addressed concerns that heavy wires could strain the tunnel walls, noting the heaviest of the power cables, which will be held up by racks spaced five feet apart, weighs in at seven pounds per foot while the communication cables average at one to two pounds per foot—”relatively a very low load,” Abrahams called it. How will silica dust be removed during construction? Mitigating silica dust has emerged as a crucial health concern in the new plan. DOT commissioner Polly Trottenberg reiterated the fact that the MTA originally decided to shutter the tunnel for 15 months in part to contain the dust kicked up during work on crumbling bench walls. “I have to say, when the MTA first came to the city about this project, wanting to close the tunnel down entirely, one of the big reasons they gave was the silica,” Trottenberg told WSP engineers Tuesday. “Even after you’ve cleaned up, vacuumed, hosed down—done all the mitigation agreements—it can be a little bedeviling to get the dust levels down to where they need to be.” To deal with the dust, work to remove 40 percent of the five-mile span of bench walls will happen on weekends exclusively. This will give work crews time to clean up before the Monday morning rush hour, said Jannetti. Experts also suggested the third-party monitor review air quality. MTA board member Andrew Albert raised concerns over the feasibility of quickly clearing out the dust, citing concerns that trains could drag remnants into stations. In response, Jannetti said he was “confident” that all the dust would be eliminated by the time trains were rolling through the tunnels. “The project will comply and meet all environmental standards—including those for silica mitigation,” Jannetti said. A handful of board members noted their frustration with WSP’s response that it’s “still very early for planning” when the project is slated to begin in less than four months. East Village City Council member Carlina Rivera tweeted her dissatisfaction and said she plans to request a “detailed clean-up schedule & more evidence from past projects” on the current mitigation plan’s effectiveness. The exact lifespan of the rehabilitation is uncertain. The new method of carrying out repairs would help the century-old tunnel last some 40 to 50 years, but the original plan was expected to keep the tube operational for a century, at the expense of a massive disruption to L train riders, officials said. “It certainly would have been advantageous for long-term service life to completely tear out the duct banks and completely replace them,” said Abrahams. “There are certainly surface-life advantages to doing that.” The new plan will lighten the burden on L train commuters, but how long the wall repairs last is dependent on the MTA regularly maintaining the work—a challenge the agency has faced with keeping signals and tracks in good working order. “I carefully in my [initial] statement did not give a timeline largely because longevity is completely dependent on your maintenance,” Jannetti said after the meeting. The MTA board could still quash changes to the plan. In a noteworthy exchange, Trottenberg questioned Ferrer over whether the L shutdown had actually been averted, as the MTA claimed following Cuomo’s initial announcement, since the board had not taken a vote. “There isn’t a change in a contract before us because there is no actual change to a contract at this point,” Ferrer said. “Once there is, I am happy to have that brought before the board if I am still acting chairman.” Trottenberg continued to press for clarification, asking if the board voted against contract changes, would that mean the shutdown is no longer averted? Ferrer responded with, “that’s what I’m saying” but then a moment later told Trottenberg “let’s not conflate” board votes on contract changes to services changes. The puzzling exchange ended with Trottenberg asking, “So if the signs say shutdown averted, it should have a footnote that says subject to board approval?” Ferrer turned his microphone off to respond and his comments were inaudible to the room crammed with reporters and members of the public. Afterward, he told reporters that the 17-member MTA board has final approval over the new plan; if the board votes against it, it could mean a full shutdown is back on. A new contractor hasn’t been brought to the board for a vote because the agency hasn’t “concluded the negotiations on the scoping and everything else,” Ferrer said. New plans are not expected to come before the board for a vote by next Thursday’s regularly scheduled board meeting.<doc-sep>'Whoever Is Watching This, They're Going To Get A Thrill': Willy T. Ribbs, Paul Tracy, Ernie Francis Jr. Discuss Superstar Racing ExperienceThe Superstar Racing Experience inaugural season begins on June 12 at Stafford Speedway. 'Rugrats' Voice Actors E.G. Daily And Cheryl Chase Call New Animation Style 'Brilliant': 'Every Time They Would Show Us We Would Just Gasp''In the words of Chuckie Finster, "Looks like a giant step to me" as the 90's classic Rugrats returns with all-new episodes and a slick modern animation style on Paramount+. WATCH: Caroline D'Amore Discusses 'Surreal' MTV's 'The Hills: New Beginnings' Experience & Pizza Girl BusinessThe Los Angeles native discusses what it was like to join the cast of "The Hills: New Beginnings" and her new line of sauce. SEC Football: CBS Sports Announces 2021 Schedule Including Alabama At Florida On September 18The SEC on CBS kicks off on September 18 with an SEC Championship game rematch between the Crimson Tide and Gators. Mayweather Vs. Paul: Showtime Sports Announces Broadcast Team For June 6 EventThe network announced its plans for the broadcast of the pay-per-view exhibition bout between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Logan Paul. The 74th Annual 'Tony Awards' And 'The Tony Awards Present: Broadway's Back!' Come To CBS September 26thCBS and Tony Award Productions will celebrate Broadway’s highly anticipated return to live theatre with a multiplatform event The Tony Awards Present: Broadway's Back! Sunday, September 26th (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) broadcasting on CBS and available to stream live and on demand with Paramount+ or the CBS app.<doc-sep>The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s board will hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss hiring an independent consultant to review plans to avoid the full shutdown of the L train subway tunnel connecting Brooklyn and Manhattan. MTA Acting Chairman Fernando Ferrer said in an interview that a review is needed to explore significant concerns posed by the new construction method, such as health risks from silica dust. Such dust, which will be produced during the work, can cause fatal lung and kidney diseases, according to the U.S. Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The consultant will also look into the cost, duration and longevity of the proposed fix as well as other issues such as alternate service planning. Mr. Ferrer said that he, the MTA board and MTA Managing Director Ronnie Hakim, would oversee the review. “The report will be made in public to management and the board, so people can make their own judgments,” Mr. Ferrer said. Mr. Ferrer’s decision will likely lead the MTA’s subway chief Andy Byford to cancel his own recently announced search for an independent consultant to assess the plan. “All that matters is there be independent scrutiny of the change,” Mr. Byford said in an interview after Mr. Ferrer’s decision. The long-planned L train reconstruction called for the tunnel to be sealed off for 15 months while extensive repairs are carried out. The work, which was due to begin in April, would have forced 275,000 subway riders to find alternate ways across the city. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who effectively controls the MTA, intervened in early January with a proposal to cancel the planned shutdown. He said that, using alternative construction techniques, suggested by a panel of university engineers, the MTA could conduct the work one tunnel tube at a time on nights and weekends. That would allow the MTA to provide full service during peak hours, while maintaining a reduced service through a single tube during off hours. The panel recommended that the MTA hire independent engineers to monitor air quality. The alternative was a welcome surprise for many residents and businesses who dreaded the looming shutdown. But elected officials, community groups and some MTA board members said they had questions about the costs and construction techniques in the new plan. Mr. Byford had said that while he supported the plan, he would hire an independent engineer to examine the proposal’s safety. He said in an interview that the tunnel would move from a construction site to an operational subway every weekday morning. “We need to be certain that it’s safe,” he said. ”Particularly with the presence of silica dust, it needs to be carefully controlled.” Write to Paul Berger at Paul.Berger@wsj.com<doc-sep>
Not so fast! Gov. Cuomo’s last-ditch L train shutdown-aversion plan may be headed toward a derailment — as MTA board members spent Tuesday afternoon picking it apart. The 17-member panel has final approval over the plan via a simple-majority — and if they vote “no” then it could be back to plan A, where the entire Brooklyn-Manhattan tunnel goes dark for 15 months. Only two board members — Cuomo appointees, including the chairman who called the “emergency meeting” — were supportive of the governor’s proposal to keep 24/7 service while doing piecemeal repairs. “This is just another complete MTA disaster,” said board member Andrew Saul, who was appointed by the Westchester County executive. “It must be unbelievable the time and money expended here and now we’re making an abrupt change.” While board members were ripping the plan to shreds, Cuomo was crowing it was a done deal during his State of the State speech in Albany. “We’re in the middle of the L train tunnel restoration, which was… a uh, a very complicated program that just underwent significant changes, but would have impacted 225,000 riders if it was done incorrectly,” he said. Cuomo claims workers could shave time off the project by mounting cables onto tunnel walls rather setting them inside cement — but drilling to hang the brackets could create dangerous silica dust that could sicken workers or straphangers if crews don’t clean up properly. “What if, one morning, the silica dust isn’t where it needs to be?” board member Polly Trottenberg asked. The original plan called for stripping the cement-and-cast iron tunnel down to the bones and replacing every inch of cement, but Cuomo proposed only tearing out and replacing the worst cement sections — a short term solution that would last half as long as the total rebuild. “Forty or 50 years doesn’t mean anything. We buy train cars that last that long. This is a 100-year-old tunnel,” fumed board member Susan Metzger. Even the Cuomo-hired engineers who cooked up the 11th-hour plan B admitted the fix wouldn’t last as long as the original plan. “It would have been advantageous to completely rip out the [cement] duct bank and replace it,” said WSP engineer Michael Abraham. But the senior vice president of WSP said in a statement that he has full confidence in the new plan. “The materials used in this project would meet rigorous standards developed for the safety and well being of riders, workers, and the general public,” said Jerry Jannetti. The squabbling is the latest twist in the L train’s roller-coaster shutdown story. The city has been scrambling to figure out how to move the train’s 225,000 riders from Canarsie, Brooklyn, to Midtown Manhattan since the MTA announced the shutdown in January 2016. The news also triggered a massive exodus from L-adjacent ‘hoods, as hipsters and yuppies decamped Williamsburg and Bushwick ahead of the shutdown, which sent apartment vacancy rates skyrocketing 25 percent and rents plummeting to 2015 levels. Then Cuomo disrupted train service on Dec. 18, 2018, so he could take a whirlwind personal tour of the tunnel — only to emerge with the conclusion that the work would indeed take 15 months. On Jan. 3, the governor announced he was side-stepping the shutdown by ordering work on one tunnel at a time over a longer period. He claimed it could take 15-20 months but wouldn’t commit to an end date, leaving open the possibility the work could stretch on longer. The board could vote whether to select Cuomo’s plan as early as Jan. 24.