LIRR to replace 108-year-old rail bridge at Nassau Boulevard in Garden City
The LIRR will replace another rail bridge this weekend as part of its ongoing expansion effort.
Long Island Rail Road crews and contractors, working on Saturday and Sunday, will remove its 108-year old bridge at Nassau Boulevard in Garden City and replace it with a new bridge that has been assembled nearby.
The work is part of the LIRR’s $2.6 billion effort to construct a third track between Floral Park and Hicksville and make other improvements along the 10-mile project corridor.
At 14 feet, the new bridge will be about two-and-a-half feet taller than the current bridge to reduce the potential for truck strikes, and will also be wider to accommodate the planned third track.
As a result of the work, there will be no train service between New Hyde Park and Hicksville on Saturday and Sunday.
“We recommend avoiding the Ronkonkoma, Huntington/Port Jefferson & Oyster Bay branches all weekend,” the railroad told its customers in a message Friday. “Instead, use the Babylon/Montauk, Hempstead or Port Washington branches.”
The Nassau Boulevard Bridge, used by more than 250 trains a day carrying 107,000 passengers, is the latest of several spans to be replaced or added to the railroad in recent months as part of the third track effort.
LIRR officials say the additional track will add needed capacity, allowing the railroad to better respond to unplanned service disruptions and run more trains, including for reverse commuters traveling to and from jobs on Long Island.
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.
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