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| Issue #34, November 16, 2007 |
By Dan Rattiner
November 12-19, 2007
Total Riders: 3,917
Total Riders Miles: 52, 444
Delays: The East Hampton to Three Mile Harbor Line will be shut down from 2 to 5 a.m. for routine track maintenance.
Advisory: The F Train Shuttle between Shinnecock and Sunrise Highway will be shut until further notice beginning tonight at 8 p.m. Passengers are advised to take alternate routes.
Employee of the Week: Gladys Thimblebottom, Dispatcher, Montauk Yard.
NEW SUBWAY LINE IS SHUT DOWN
Inspectors from the Federal Government announced last Tuesday the immediate shut down of the subway shuttle connecting the Shinnecock Station with the new Sunrise Station near the Lobster Inn as a result of safety violations. There is a serious and sudden four-foot drop in the new tube halfway between the two stations that, so far, has not caused any injuries to passengers, but which does exceed safety parameters.
"Apparently, the new tube connecting the stations was built at both ends to meet in the middle," an investigator explained. "But the tubes don't match."
Due to paperwork delays, the shutdown will begin on Friday evening at 6 p.m. The Shinnecock Shuttle will continue to run, ferrying passengers from the parking lot at Sunrise Highway to the Shinnecock Main Line Station until then.
"We have always known there was a bump," Commissioner Aspinall said. "But we thought it was within legal construction parameters. A lot of kids took the shuttle back and forth because of it and seemed to enjoy it immensely."
The construction miscalculation happened because of the hurry-up plan of construction. With the County Road 39 repairs and delays beginning, it was important to get a new subway shuttle on line by mid-October, and so two teams of construction men worked at opposite ends. That deadline was met, and the community has enjoyed this new transportation route, taking further pressure off the County Road 39 repairs for more than two weeks. Visitors from the city park their cars in the vast lot across from the Lobster Inn and then take the shuttle to Shinnecock to make further connections.
"I feel nothing but pride that my brother Biff won the bid to build this shuttle connection," Commissioner Aspinall said "And he got the job done quickly. We regret further delays."
It is estimated that the shuttle will have to be shut down for six months while repairs are made at a cost of $14 million.
COMMISSIONER ASPINALL'S WEEKLY MESSAGE
It is a big undertaking, building a new underground subway tunnel six miles long. We began last spring when it was announced that County Road 39 would be narrowed to one lane beginning October 15 for repairs and widening, and that this disruption would last six months.
As you know, the Long Island Railroad has added three morning commuter trains to Montauk, and the Hampton Jitney has added a "last chance" bus. We felt, as the third prong of public transit in the Hamptons, that we should do our part.
We certainly didn't think it was a big deal, but apparently it is. We requested an appeal to this decision, but it was denied. And so now we have to endure this shut down and we are very sorry. We tried. Sometimes things don't work out. But you learn something.
And so I am pleased to announce that during the rest of November and December, we are going to convert our parking lot at Sunrise into a vast roller skating rink, the largest on Long Island, or anywhere in the world for that matter. Then in January and February we will freeze it over and turn it into a combination ice skating rink and hockey rink. The ice skating rink, which will be closest to the eastbound Sunrise parking turnoff entrance, will be named Biff Rink. And the hockey rink, including small wooden bleachers for spectators, will be known as the Aspinall Sunrise Rink.
You should know that we originally planned to put in a skateboard park here, but my committee voted that down in a very close contest, 3 to 2. It was felt by the majority that there might be insurance problems.
The rinks will close when the Sunrise Station reopens in early June, when, according to Biff Aspinall, the construction repairs will be completed.
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