New York governor blocks full shutdown of subway line for repairs

Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo gives a news conference after casting his vote for the midterm elections, at the Presbyterian Church in Mt. Kisco, New York, U.S., November 6, 2018. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs/File Photo

NEW YORK (Reuters) - More than two years after an announcement that one of New York City's busiest subway lines would stop running between Manhattan and Brooklyn to allow for repairs, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Thursday that service would not be halted after all.

The expected closure of the L train tunnel under the East River for at least 15 months had dismayed residents of the Brooklyn communities of Williamsburg, Bushwick and beyond, who were bracing themselves for squeezing onto other already crowded lines or into promised new bus services. Some even moved out of their neighborhoods.

Cuomo told a news conference that engineering experts from Cornell and Columbia universities had looked at the plans drawn up by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the state agency that runs the subway, and found them needlessly disruptive.

"The simple fact is you have roughly 250,000 people who would need another way to get to work," Cuomo said. The line also is one of the relative few that connect the east and west sides of Manhattan.

Under the new plan, work would take place on nights and weekends, with trains running on limited service through one of the two tubes inside the tunnel. It was not clear how long the repairs would take to complete.

The repairs were necessary to fix damage caused by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, one of the most devastating storms ever to hit the U.S. East Coast. Although the tunnel is structurally sound, salt water from the East River leaks inside, corroding electrical switches and power lines.

"Salt water and electronics do not mix," Cuomo said.

(Reporting by Jonathan Allen; Editing by Dan Grebler)