LOWER MANHATTAN — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is considering reopening the decommissioned South Ferry subway platform as repairs to the newer, Sandy-wrecked South Ferry-Whitehall Street station may take up to three years to complete, officials said Tuesday.
“We’re looking at ways to get service back to the station sooner rather than later,” said MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz.
The MTA is also considering opening the South Ferry-Whitehall station in stages, rather than waiting to fix completely the badly damaged 1 train terminal before resuming service, Ortiz said.
Thomas Prendergast, acting executive director of the MTA told City Council’s Transportation Committee, said he wanted to get service back to commuters as quickly as possibly, either by relaunching the old station, or reopening the new one in stages, according to media reports.
Ortiz said the MTA will need two to three months to evaluate which plan will make most sense, and also to create a timeline for getting some form of service up-and-running.
The old South Ferry loop tracks had been out of public use since the new station opened in 2009, after a $545 million renovation. But, Ortiz said, out-of-service trains have continued to use the track.
Plus, since the storm, the outer-track of the loop has been used to turn 1 trains around at the tip of Manhattan.
The MTA has said repairs to the new station could cost up to $600 million dollars.
