LIRR train service suspended between Mineola and Hicksville this weekend
The Long Island Rail Road announced that crews working on the LIRR Expansion Project will replace the 78-year-old bridge that carries the Long Island Rail Road over Glen Cove Road in Carle Place. The work will result in a suspension of train service for 55 hours between Mineola and Hicksville on the weekend of June 27-28, as well as weekend roadway closures.
The new bridge will carry a third bay to support the Main Line’s future third track and have a height of 14 feet, a standardized high-clearance height for all new bridges along the corridor. The bridge will be lifted and rolled into place after demolishing the old bridge, applying a method that was successfully used at Cherry Lane and Nassau Boulevard last year.
More information about the replacement of the Glen Cove Road Bridge can be found at the website of A Modern L.I.: https://www.amodernli.com/project/glen-cove-road-bridge-replacement/
As a result of the project, there will be no train service between Mineola and Hicksville from 11 p.m. Friday, June 26, through 5 a.m. on Monday, July 29. Special timetables are available via MTA.info, and train service information will be available via the MYmta app and LIRR Train Time.
The LIRR is adding express trains between Babylon and New York City to help customers travel. Elsewhere, trains will operate at normal service intervals, but on adjusted schedules, on the Far Rockaway, Hempstead, Long Beach, Montauk, Port Washington and West Hempstead Branches, and between Ronkonkoma and Greenport. Main Line trains will operate hourly between Mineola and Penn Station, with stops at Merillon Avenue, New Hyde Park and Jamaica. Trains will operate between Oyster Bay and Jamaica every two hours.
Glen Cove Road Closure and Vehicular Detour
To accommodate the bridge replacement project, Glen Cove Road will close to thru traffic between Old Country Road and Westbury Avenue between 8 p.m. Friday, June 26, and 4 a.m. Monday, June 29. Local traffic will be permitted only to access businesses that are open in the area. The work zone around the bridge replacement – approximately 400 feet – will be closed entirely to vehicular and pedestrian traffic.
A detour plan will be in effect to allow vehicles to navigate the closure safely and
efficiently. Cars will be directed to go around the detour area using Meadowbrook Parkway, Old Country Road, Roslyn Road and East Jericho Turnpike. To access the area within the detour, cars may use Westbury Avenue between Roslyn Road and Glen Cove Road. Commercial vehicles will be directed to go around the detour using Old Country Road, Roslyn Road and East Jericho Turnpike. Details at this link.
Following the superstructure installation, work will continue on the bridge for approximately six weeks. At this time, lane closures may be necessary to facilitate the completion of work. Signage will be in place to help pedestrians navigate the area.
Customers Seeking Travel from Westbury or Carle Place
The Westbury and Carle Place stations will be closed, and customers of those stations will be encouraged to consider traveling via the Hempstead Branch, Mineola, or the Merrick Station on the Babylon Branch.
Weekend parking is free at all stations on the Babylon Branch except Amityville and Babylon. To get to the Merrick Station from Westbury or Carle Place via car, take the Meadowbrook Parkway south to Sunrise Highway East (exit M8E), after .4 miles you will see the Merrick Station and free parking lots, on your left.
At Mineola, parking is available for a modest fee in the Mineola Intermodal Center garage, and the station is served by the N22 and N24 NICE Bus routes. LIRR tickets will be cross-honored on the N22/24 bus routes for NICE Bus service between Hicksville and Mineola. See https://www.nicebus.com/ for bus stops and schedules.
Hempstead is served by the N27, N48, N49, N70, N71, N72 bus routes. The N40, N41 and N43 routes serve Freeport, while the N80 serves Massapequa and Massapequa Park.
Special timetables for the weekend are below:
Port Jefferson Branch and Ronkonkoma Branch
Travel between New York City and stations east of Hicksville will be possible via shuttle trains operating via Babylon. Customers should anticipate an additional 56 minutes of travel time and are encouraged to consider traveling via the Babylon Branch or Montauk Branch, where parking at all stations is free on the weekend.
Port Jefferson Branch and Ronkonkoma Branch trains will operate to/from Hicksville, where customers will be able to connect to a shuttle train to Babylon, then connect to special express service between Babylon and Penn Station. These trains will make limited stops between Babylon and Penn Station. Customers can connect at Jamaica for service to Brooklyn.
LIRR tickets will be cross-honored on the N22 and N24 bus routes for NICE Bus service between Hicksville and Mineola. See https://www.nicebus.com/ for schedules.
Customers can also consider Suffolk County Transit bus routes to reach the Babylon, Bay Shore, Islip, Great River, Sayville, Patchogue, or Bellport LIRR stations.
Prior to the start of the service outage, the last train to Ronkonkoma will depart from Penn Station at 11:14 p.m. Friday evening and the last train to Huntington will depart from Penn Station at 11:39 p.m. The last westbound train from Ronkonkoma will depart at 11:49 p.m. Friday evening and the last westbound train from Huntington will depart at 12:10 a.m. Saturday morning.
After the service outage has concluded, the first westbound train from Ronkonkoma will depart at 1:51 a.m. on Monday, and the first westbound train from Huntington will depart at 3:43 a.m. The first eastbound train to Huntington will depart from Penn Station at 3:07 a.m. and the first train to Ronkonkoma will depart at 3:15 a.m.
—Submitted by the MTA
