MTA marks resiliency construction milestone with Coney Island Yard Complex

Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and New York City Transit (NYCT) marked a construction milestone with the installation of the first section of an elevated cable bridge that will supply traction power to the entire the Coney Island Yard Complex.

Begun in March 2018, the Coney Island Yard project calls for installation of flood mitigation and other protections, including a new 4,280-foot-long bridge to carry power feeders and communication cables across the 74-acre yard.

The bridge will carry cables to provide third-rail power to the entire yard overhead rather than burying the cables underground, offering better protection and making them easier to maintain, MTA officials said in press release.

The work is part of MTA's extensive resiliency program launched after Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast in October 2019. The program is designed to protect MTA infrastructure, facilities and fleets during extreme weather.

During storm surges in 2012, the 75-acre Coney Island Yard Complex was flooded with 27 million gallons of saltwater and debris.

The yard complex is the largest rapid transit yard in the world, storing and servicing 881 subway cars and deploying 71 NYCT trains across six rail lines daily, MTA officials said.

As part of its resiliency work, MTA has also replaced substations, installed emergency management equipment and repaired train-yard damage at MTA Long Island Rail Road; and restored 11 Shoreliner coaches, restored right-of-way, replaced substations and rebuilt a station house at MTA Metro-North Railroad.