MTA Bridges and Tunnels to Implement Ban on Empty Tractor-Trailers and Tandem Trucks Today
MTA Crews Prepositioned to Respond to Weather-Related Issues
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is closely monitoring weather conditions forecast for Wednesday that are expected to bring heavy rain and high winds, including gusts of up to 65 miles per hour. MTA employees will be poised to respond to any weather-related issues, including removal of trees that may fall across tracks.
Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad
Metro-North Railroad and Long Island Rail Road crews will be pre-positioned around the system ready to respond to any weather-related issues.
Crews have equipment on hand to be able to respond quickly as conditions warrant – chainsaws for clearing downed trees, pumps in the event of flooded areas, identifying locations and availability of supplies for replacing damaged utility poles and crossing gates. Diesel locomotives will also be pre-positioned to minimize any potential service impacts.
Personnel will survey and clear drainage areas where necessary, fortify key locations as well as any track structures requiring attention.
MTA Bridges and Tunnels
Based on current weather forecasts of high winds, MTA Bridges and Tunnels will ban empty tractor-trailers and tandem trucks on its seven bridges, listed below, beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, April 3, and anticipated to last through 10:00 p.m. The ban will take place at these bridges:
- Bronx-Whitestone Bridge
- Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge
- Henry Hudson Bridge
- Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge
- Robert F. Kennedy Bridge
- Throgs Neck Bridge
- Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge
The pedestrian walkways at the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge and Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge will also be closed during this time.
The pedestrian walkways at the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge and Henry Hudson Bridge will remain open, weather permitting.
New York City Buses
MTA personnel will monitor routes for known flooding situations and have detours prepared. Extra personnel will be on standby in the event of service disruptions or subway shutdowns.
All bus facilities will have roof drains checked to ensure they are clear of debris and any loose materials will be secured. Emergency generators are being checked and will be ready in the event of a power outage.
New York City Subway
New York City Transit’s focus during heavy rain events is to minimize impacts to service by responding and removing water quickly. NYC Transit has a fleet of emergency response equipment including emergency trucks, deployable pumps, debris trains and pump trains ready to deploy and respond to flooding conditions. Field personnel inspects and clean vents at flood-prone locations, and personnel are staged at critical locations including stations and yards, ready to deploy and respond to flooding conditions.
Access-A-Ride
Access-A-Ride paratransit will continue to provide service. Customers may experience additional delays and wait times. Customers may want to consider adjusting their travel plans.
Paratransit Command Center will be monitoring the storm to track and respond to any customer or day of service issues.