The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will halt Long Island Rail Road train service between Great Neck and Port Washington on Saturday and Sunday to begin construction of the new Colonial Road Bridge in the Village of Thomaston.
Service along the Port Washington line will be provided by buses that will run every hour — a reduction in the usual train schedule, which runs every half hour, said MTA LIRR spokesman Salvatore Arena.
Buses will begin to replace trains at 2:20 a.m. Saturday morning until 3:48 p.m. Saturday afternoon.
Train service will resume at that time to help passengers get to the Mets-Willets Point Station for the Zac Brown Band concert at CitiField Saturday evening.
At 2:19 a.m. Sunday morning, bus service will again replace train service as the MTA resumes construction to the bridge.
Passengers traveling westbound from the Port Washington, Plandome, or Manhasset stations will board buses or vans up to 25 minutes earlier than normal for Great Neck where normal train service will resume.
Passengers traveling eastbound to the Port Washington, Plandome, or Manhasset stations will board buses or vans at Great Neck, arriving at their destination up to 25 minutes later.
According to the MTA, 41 pre-cast concrete arch units will be installed as part of a $45 million project that includes making track-level drainage improvements, building a retaining wall and extending an existing pocket track used to turn trains around. The project began in March with the closing of the bridge and continued with its demolition in June.
The MTA has said the replacement of the bridge is essential to the East Side Access project, which will bring the LIRR straight into Grand Central Station in Manhattan. The project will cut the travel time of commuters who work on Manhattan’s east side by 20 to 30 minutes when completed.
“Unfortunately this is a disruption and inconvenience to our residents,” said Village of Thomaston Mayor Steve Weinberg. “But there is truly no other way to do this. By doing it over the weekend, it is minimized to a certain number of days.”
Installation of the new bridge was expected to begin in October, but the MTA’s plans were ahead of schedule, according to Mayor Weinberg.
The project is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2018.
