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Rockaway Line Resiliency and Rehabilitation

The MTA is making holistic repairs to infrastructure that was severely damaged by Superstorm Sandy. Construction includes resiliency work, such as flood mitigation and a new redundant signal tower. Structural rehabilitation will be performed at Hammels Wye juncture and repairs will be made to the Rockaway Viaduct.
Updated Nov 15, 2024

Details

  • Location
    Queens
  • Type
    Rehabilitation
  • Status
    Construction

Area Map

Timeline

Construction
  • Q1 2023: Start of construction on South Channel Bridge rehabilitation
  • Q3 2023: Start of construction on Rockaway Viaduct rehabilitation
  • Q4 2023: Start of construction on Hammels Wye Viaduct rehabilitation
  • Q4 2023: Start of construction on Rockaway Line resiliency project
  • Q4 2023: Start of construction on Beach 105 St Signal Tower resiliency project
Completion
  • Q3 2026: Substantial project completion

About the project

The MTA is completing critical repairs to aging infrastructure in the Rockaways to make the peninsula’s public transportation more resilient against climate change. The damage caused by Superstorm Sandy was extensive and trains were suspended for seven months while crews worked hard to make emergency repairs that restored ​ and ​ service to the Rockaways. The Rockaway Line, which carries the ​​ trains, is the critical connection between the Rockaway peninsula and the rest of New York City, serving more than 9,000 daily riders and connecting a diverse population of almost 125,000 residents. As climate change accelerates and sea levels continue to rise, it is essential that we build infrastructure with extra resiliency features so New York City’s transit system can withstand future storm surges.  

Many components of the Rockaway Line are over 65 years old, which necessitates significant resilience upgrades to harden vulnerable and aging infrastructure against rising sea levels. While emergency work to restore service as quickly as possible was completed immediately following Superstorm Sandy, ongoing construction builds upon those repairs to further strengthen Rockaway Line service and ensure reliability for decades to come.

Intense rehabilitation of the viaducts crossing Broad Channel will require a 24/7 17-week ​ train service outage in Winter and Spring 2025. The MTA will provide alternative transportation.

Learn more about service changes on the Rockaway Line in 2025.

Completed work

  • 2013: Emergency work restored the washed-out right-of-way; started resiliency upgrades and installation of sheet pile wall in the flats.
  • 2019: Hammels Wye Campus flood mitigation; flood-hardened and protected the substation.
  • 2020: Station flood hardening to protect communications and signal equipment.

Resiliency work

Rockaway Line resiliency

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.

Beach 105 St Signal Tower resiliency

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.

Rehabilitation work

Hammels Wye Viaduct repairs

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 17-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.

Rockaway Viaduct repairs

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.

South Channel Bridge repairs

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 17-week 24/7 ​ line shutdown. The majority of the work will be performed in winter and spring 2025.

Project documents

Project information
Viaduct construction notices

Community engagement

The project’s community outreach team is committed to proactive engagement focused on minimizing the impacts of construction on the public.

The MTA keeps in close contact with stakeholders surrounding the project site, the local community boards, and elected officials’ offices that field correspondence. The project team will stay in direct communication for the project duration on all changes impacting the neighborhood and will make available all materials for distribution to the local community. The public can contact RockawayResiliency@mtacd.org or call the contractor’s hotline number, 516-331-4009, if there is a non-emergency concern. For all emergencies, please call 911.

Meetings

Upcoming meetings include: 

  • Ocean Bay Tenants Association meeting, November 18, 2024, in person
  • Broad Channel Association meeting, November 20, 2024, in person
Past meetings
  • Queens Community Board 14 Transportation Committee Meeting, March 21, 2023, virtual 
  • Queens Community Board 10 Transportation Committee Meeting, April 19, 2023, virtual
  • Queens Community Board 14 Full Board Meeting, June 13, 2023, in person
  • Broad Channel Civic Association Meeting, September 28, 2023, in person
  • Queens Community Board 10 Full Board, September 5, 2024, in person
  • Queens Community Board 14 Full Board, September 10, 2024, in person
  • CEC 27 Monthly Meeting, September 16, 2024, virtual
  • Redfern Houses Tenants Meeting, September 26, 2024, in person
  • Bayswater Civic Association Meeting, September 30, 2024, in person
  • Ocean Bay/Wave Crest Tenants Association, October 24, 2024, in person
  • NORDAC Senior Presentation, October 25, 2024, in person
  • Ocean Park Resident’s Meeting, October 28, 2024, in person
  • Carlton Manor Tenants Association meeting, November 7, 2024, in person
  • Rockaway YMCA town hall meeting, November 14, 2024, in person

Local hiring opportunity goals

The project will be among the first to take advantage of new federal guidance allowing local hiring provisions in MTA projects. Schiavone will be tasked with meeting local hiring goals, with a goal of 20% of the workforce coming from the region.

Schiavone will perform outreach with local community organizations and advertise for available or upcoming job opportunities.

All labor related hiring will require coordination or sign-up through local trade union organizations.

In addition, the MTA has set a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) goal of 22.5% of the total contract price to stimulate economic activity for minority- and women-owned firms. Schiavone is actively soliciting bid proposals from DBE companies.