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Roosevelt Island Tram Station Rehab May Finish Ahead of Schedule: Officials

By Shaye Weaver | August 15, 2017 5:28pm
 The Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation voted to spend an additional $160,000 to speed up the renovation of its tram stations.
The Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation voted to spend an additional $160,000 to speed up the renovation of its tram stations.
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ROOSEVELT ISLAND — Repairs to platforms at the Roosevelt Island Tram station that have reduced service to just a single car at times may now wrap ahead of schedule thanks to additional money being approved for the project, officials said.

At special meeting on Aug. 9, members of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation voted to spend an additional $160,000 to speed up the renovation work, which was originally slated to finish by the end of winter 2018.

The work, which began on July 24, will remove the platforms' deteriorated top surfaces, repair structural slabs and metal columns, and add waterproofing to stations on both the Roosevelt Island and Manhattan sides.

Construction crews have been working five days a week since then, but the additional cash will now now allow them to work on Saturdays, as well, according to the RIOC. 

Mike Russo, RIOC's engineering consultant, said during the meeting that the additional money will go entirely toward labor and will not exceed the $160,000 budgeted. The entire cost of the project now sits at $2.1 million, officials said.

Russo said he hopes the project can now wrap up before the end of the year, according to the Roosevelt Islander Blog, which first reported on the plans.

RIOC moved to increase the work schedule because there's only one tram working on a regular basis, which at times has created a backup of commuters at the stations. The possibility of bad winter weather in the coming months could also cause further delays, members said.

Some commuters have posted on social media about the delays.

 

Line for the 🚠 extends past the turnstile!

A post shared by ScottyP (@scottpiro) on

Lines for the trams have been long but manageable, especially if more people use the island's free Red Bus service, according to Susan Rosenthal, RIOC's president.

"We are trying our best and it seems as if the community has been very patient and they have been polite," she said during the meeting. "I wish more people would take the Red Buses, but we're keeping track. We're going to keep them going while we continue the platform repair."