L train riders will contend with 15 weekend closures ahead of April shutdown

L train riders who are already dreading the upcoming 15-month shutdown in April 2019, now have to contend with even more repair work in the coming weekends. The MTA announced over the weekend that it needed to carry out a significant amount of maintenance work and track improvements along the L line to prepare for Canarsie tunnel closure next year.

Gothamist was the first to report on these weekend closures, which will see the disruption of service for a total of 15 weekends before the actual shutdown goes into effect. The first of the weekend closures is happening this coming weekend and will see L train service only between Broadway Junction and Canarsie-Rockaway Parkway. Service on the rest of the line will end at 11:30 p.m. on Friday, August 10, and resume at 5 a.m. on August 13.

And that’s just the start of the headache. Weekend service will be similarly impacted for all of October, two weekends in November, all of February, three weekends in March, and one weekend in the middle April. What we can infer from this at least is that the full closure of Canarsie Tunnel will probably take place at the end of April.

During the upcoming weekend closures, the MTA will be operating shuttle buses on three different routes in Brooklyn. For service in Manhattan, the M14A bus run will between Eighth Avenue and Essex Street, and make stops along the L line.

Here’s how you can get around in Brooklyn, and get to Manhattan during the weekend work:

Via MTA

• MTA Previews Big L Train Shutdown With 15 Weekends Of L Shutdowns [Gothamist]
• All the L train shutdown coverage [Curbed]