LIRR’s $2.5 billion Third Track opens after six decades of debate,

On Oct 4, 2022

The Long Island Rail Road’s nearly 10-mile-long Third Track through Nassau County is done, officials announced Monday morning.

The $2.5 billion effort had been considered and debated by Long Island planners for more than six decades before construction began in 2019.

“This is the completion of a long, long ride,” Gov. Kathy Hochul announced at a news conference at a garage adjacent to the LIRR’s Westbury Station. The crowd included key figures from the project’s long history, including two former LIRR presidents and the current interim president.

The new track, stretching from Floral Park to Hicksville, has long been seen as critical to the expansion of the LIRR, which has operated on the same two tracks through its bottlenecked Main Line for more than a century. The constrained infrastructure limited the railroad’s ability to run eastbound trains during the morning rush hour, westbound trains in the evening, and to work around unexpected service disruptions along the busy line, which connects to Ronkonkoma, Huntington, Port Jefferson, Hempstead, and Oyster Bay.

WHAT TO KNOW

Construction is complete on a the Long Island Rail Road’s new 9.8-mile Third Track, stretching from Floral Park to Hicksville, officials announced Monday. The LIRR says the added capacity will allow them to boost service on its Main Line, and to more quickly recover from unexpected service disruptions.
After decades of planning and debate, the project was launched in 2016, and construction began in 2019. Officials said the $2.5 billion effort was completed on time and $100 million under budget, although some related station improvements are still unfinished.
Although the project has been largely praised by business and planning groups, some residents along the project’s corridor have complained about the impact from construction.

Combined with its also soon-to-be-completed East Side Access megaproject, the LIRR says it will boost service by 40% and, for the first time, be able to provide adequate service to “reverse commuters” traveling to and from jobs on Long Island.

“Now, with the last leg of the Third Track having been completed, we are able to deliver with the best benefit of them all — more Long Island Rail Road service in two directions,” LIRR interim president Catherine Rinaldi said.

The LIRR first tried to move ahead with the Third Track about a dozen years ago, but dropped its plans amid fierce opposition from residents along its path and elected officials who were concerned over the effects from construction. The original plan would have required the LIRR to build on private property, including some residents’ backyards.

In 2016, then-++Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, under the urging of project supporters, resuscitated the Third Track, using a new design and public outreach process that minimized impact on residents, and offered several new benefits, such as the elimination of eight grade crossings.

Still, the Third…