Rockaway Line Resiliency and Rehabilitation

The Rockaway Line resiliency project includes protection of embankments and hardening of critical infrastructure at stations throughout the Rockaway Line.

Construction schedule:

The MTA’s contractor, Schiavone Construction, began work in Q4 2023.

Flooding from Superstorm Sandy destroyed the electrical capabilities at the former Beach 116 St Station Signal Tower, which serves a critical purpose for signal and communication systems serving the ​​ subway lines. In the wake of the storm surge, it had been imperative that the MTA not only restore normal operations, but also rebuild this infrastructure with water resilient features. To make the system more resilient, the MTA is building a new, elevated signal tower at Beach 105 St Station for redundancy.

Beach 105 St Station is the penultimate station on the Rockaway Park branch of the Rockaway Line. With a new, elevated signal tower, Beach 105 St Station could function as an emergency terminal station and allow train service to continue on the Rockaway Line even if Rockaway Park Yard were impacted by a storm or flood.

Construction schedule: 

Construction work began in Q4 2023, with work shifts running from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The MTA works closely with the New York City Department of Transportation to coordinate street closures and redirect traffic when necessary. The MTA keeps in close communication with local stakeholders to provide construction updates and inform the community in advance of traffic changes.

We are repairing and rehabilitating elements of the steel and concrete substructure at the Hammels Wye Viaduct to replace viaduct superstructures.

Construction schedule:

There is a planned service diversion from Winter to Spring 2025. Construction requires a 16-week 24/7 outage of the Hammels Wye Viaduct and consequently an outage of all ​ train service to and from the Rockaways for that time period. Because Hammels Wye is a narrow chokepoint, a total service disruption is necessary to complete the work as quickly as possible. The MTA is staging the most invasive construction to avoid the summer beach season, which is an important time for Rockaway businesses.

Additionally, Schiavone will be working along the west side of Hammels Wye clearing brush, debris, repairing and mending fences, and installing temporary gates in preparation for later work on the Hammels Wye track. This work will be scheduled for Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

We are repairing, removing, and replacing various deteriorated elements of the Rockaway Line Viaduct structure west of Hammels Wye toward the Beach 116 St Station and east of Hammels Wye towards the Far Rockaway-Mott Av Station. To minimize impacts of construction, the MTA and Schiavone will use small mechanical and pneumatic tools to chip concrete and prepare surfaces for repairs. The majority of the work will take place below the viaduct. Parts of the roadway under the viaduct will be closed for work staging areas, which will be kept as small enclosed areas that will open to the public after construction is completed.

Construction schedule:

The MTA’s contractor, Schiavone Construction, began early work in September 2023.

Work to repair cracks along the structure will take place Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. At this time, there is no evening or weekend work scheduled.

The South Channel Bridge suffered extensive damage from Superstorm Sandy and, while initial repairs were made to bring the bridge up to working condition, the bridge’s infrastructure needs significant attention. We are also replacing electrical and mechanical systems to address state of good repair needs.

South Channel Bridge serves as the main channel for barges carrying fuel to JFK Airport. Because of aging infrastructure, the bridge experiences malfunctions. When the bridge gets stuck, the Coast Guard mandates the bridge remain open to vessels, which restricts subway service and causes extensive delays.

Construction schedule:

The MTA is coordinating channel closure with the Coast Guard and mariners. There will be a 10-week marine channel closure within the 16-week 24/7 ​ line shutdown. The majority of the work will be performed in winter and spring 2025.