Amtrak begins shutdown of East River Tunnel tube for rehab project

Amtrak last week kicked off construction and began shutting down the first of two East River Tunnel (ERT) tubes for rehabilitation. When completed, the $1.6 billion project will fully restore the two of the four tubes in the tunnel that were damaged during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. 

The ERT project involves a long term outage while Amtrak crews deconstruct the tubes down to their concrete liners, then reconstruct the tunnels with modern equipment. Work will take place in one tube at a time, Amtrak officials said in a press release. 

Work on the second tube is slated to begin June 2. Throughout the project's duration, three of the four tubes will remain open for Amtrak, MTA Long Island Rail Road and New Jersey Transit trains. Amtrak will provide around the clock engineering coverage, more frequent safety inspections and strategically placed rescue equipment to minimize the impact of the rehabilitation on commuters, Amtrak officials said.

Additionally, Amtrak is working with LIRR and NJ Transit to meet the capacity needs for service between New York City and the rest of the state while the tubes are closed, Amtrak officials said.