Roosevelt Island Escapes Transportation Nightmare, For Now - MTA Announces Proposed F Train Subway Service Disruptions For 63rd Street Tunnel Rehab Project Pushed Back To At Least July And Maybe Longer

Roosevelt Island residents were preparing themselves for a transportation nightmare disrupting F Train subway service 

from May 1 through October

with accompanying long lines resulting at the Roosevelt Island Tram 

due to the MTA's upcoming 63rd Street Line Direct Fixation Track Rehabilitation Project.

 

The Manhattan Community Board 8 Transportation Committee hosted a March 1 presentation by the MTA about the project and shortly thereafter the MTA sent out this chart trying to explain the changes coming to Roosevelt Island subway service during the project.

Roosevelt Island elected officials, NYC Council Member Julie Menin, Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright, State Senator Liz Kruger and Congressman Jerry Nadler wrote to MTA Chair Janno Lieber and Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) President Shelton Haynes urging them to find solutions for the planned F Train Subway service disruptions.

During a March 23 press briefing with NYC First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, I asked about the planned Roosevelt Island F Train subway service disruptions.

Deputy Mayor Wright replied:

... The Deputy Mayor for Operations for the Department of Transportation reports up to me so I will definitely share this with her and get your information so we can make sure that they understand not only what the concern is but what the recommended solution is. We love people who come to us with ideas to fix the thing right so that is very helpful...

Good news today. The MTA announced this afternoon:

This is to inform you that the MTA is revising its schedule for the replacement of its direct fixation track along the 63rd Street corridor, which is used by the F line to travel between Manhattan and Queens via Roosevelt Island and the 63rd Street Tunnel.

Last month we informed you that our critical state of good repair track work would begin May 1, 2023 and proceed in three consecutive phases through October 2023.

In order to provide the most robust alternative service possible while this work takes place, we are coordinating closely with a concurrent project to upgrade the signal system along the Queens Boulevard Line to Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) and are reevaluating the start date and overall schedule of the direct fixation track work. As we revise the track work schedule, we must also coordinate with several other projects along the Queens Boulevard Line and other subway lines.

Therefore, at this time we do not have a final revised schedule for the 63rd Street line track work. However, we can share that it will not start before July 1, 2023, and due to other scheduling factors, the start may be pushed to 2024.

We will have more information in the coming weeks with details on the final revised schedule and corresponding service plan with planned start date.

We will continue to work with all your offices and with the community stakeholders on Roosevelt Island as we proceed with this project.

We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience. Please feel free to reach out to us for more information.