Rockaway Peninsula Line resumes service after rehabilitation work
The Rockaway Peninsula Line resumed service on May 19 after the lines underwent critical resiliency and rehabilitation work. The Rockaway Line, which carries the A and S trains, is the critical connection between the Rockaway peninsula and the rest of New York City, serving nearly 12,500 Rockaway riders daily and connecting a diverse population of almost 125,000 residents. The project, which continues, is on time and under budget.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Construction & Development (C&D) carried out a complete reconstruction of Hammels Wye, an elevated structure that all trains must cross to reach the peninsula. MTA C&D notes the South Channel Bridge, which must swing open to allow for marine traffic to cross Jamaica Bay, also underwent an overhaul to update its aging electrical and mechanical components that previously were often the source of significant delays in train service. Both structures are more than 65 years old, and MTA C&D says the completed overhaul ensures Rockaway residents can continue to depend on reliable service on the A line for decades to come.
"The A train is a key artery of New York City, stretching all the way from Inwood to the ocean, and for residents of the Rockaways, it is a critical lifeline," said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. "That's why we made a promise to this community that we would get the A train back in service by Memorial Day. Today, we deliver on that promise, bringing reliable service to the A line that riders will be able to count on for decades."
MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said, “The Rockaway project reflects what the new MTA is doing — delivering capital work on time and on budget with minimal impacts to customers and maximum benefit. The line is now fully rebuilt and better prepared to withstand the extreme conditions we are facing in the age of climate change.”
Following extensive damage caused by Superstorm Sandy, emergency work to repair the Rockaway Line was completed in subsequent months. However, MTA notes many components of the critical line are over 65 years old and required extensive overhauls to weather the effects of increasingly intense storms, flooding and climate change. The viaduct and bridge connecting the Rockaway Peninsula with the rest of Queens needed comprehensive rehabilitation and repair work to ensure the structures withstand future extreme weather events, which required a 17-week, 24/7 shutdown this winter. According to the MTA, through two 10-hour shifts, 200 construction workers worked 20 hours a day on both weekdays and weekends to complete this portion of the project on time.
Additional work on the Rockaway Line Resiliency and Rehabilitation Project, including structural repairs, new interlocking infrastructure and a new signal tower will take place during future weekend outages. The entire project is expected to be completed by late 2026.
"Projects like this are what the new MTA is all about: delivering transformational projects better, faster and cheaper than ever before,” said MTA C&D President Jamie Torres-Springer. “After 17 weeks of 20-hour shifts through the heart of a New York City winter, we're proud to deliver generations of great public transit to the Rockaways — on time and on budget.”
Hammels Wye
MTA notes all trains to the peninsula must cross Hammels Wye, an elevated structure that allows for service to split between west-bound to Rockaway Park and east-bound to Far Rockaway. Decades of exposure to the elements have caused significant wear and tear to the structure requiring it to be completely reconstructed.
According to the authority, the new structure is comprised of 250 tons of steel, 1,600 feet of reconstructed structure rail, 37 steel girders, 700 concrete crossties and 856 tons of stone ballast. All signals and power systems were fully modernized and rebuilt, enabling this section of the A line to be made communication-based train control (CBTC) equipped in the future, including 2,340 feet of tractions power cable, 8,000 feet of signal cable and a new track switch.
“We promised customers excellent alternative service during this project, and I’m proud to say the New York City Transit team delivered, ensuring Rockaway riders continued to get where they needed to go the past four months,” said New York City Transit President Demetrius Crichlow. “Completing this project means more reliable and resilient service to the Rockaways for decades into the future, and with further investment in new CBTC signals to come, things will only get better for A train riders.”
Additional resiliency work
Other components of the Rockaway Line Resiliency and Rehabilitation project included building 12-foot high, 900-foot-long wave barriers along the tracks to protect against coastal storm surges and can withstand future Superstorm Sandy-like strength storms. MTA says the height of the wave barriers was determined by future storm surge maps, with additional feet added to ensure maximal protection.
According to the authority, debris washed onto the tracks was a major source of damage during Superstorm Sandy. Now, the tracks are protected by newly built debris shields that will prevent debris from washing onto the tracks. Additional resiliency efforts also included repairs to the Rockaway Viaduct and fortifications to embankments washed out by Superstorm Sandy.
MTA says that large boulders and rocks, known as riprap, were installed at the base of the tracks to prevent erosion from both daily tides and storm surge. Riprap also serves to prevent water incursion into infrastructure.
