The Urban Avenue grade crossing in the Town of North Hempstead is one of eight street-level crossings along the LIRR Main Line being eliminated as part of the LIRR Expansion Project from Floral Park to Hicksville.
Over the weekend of July 20-21, the LIRR and design-build contractor 3rd Track Constructors installed a new train bridge at Urban Avenue. This new bridge installation, where there was no bridge before, eliminates the railroad crossing. The newly-constructed, 1,200-ton bridge/structure now carries the Main Line tracks above the planned two-lane underpass for vehicular traffic, and a pedestrian sidewalk. The roadway beneath the bridge officially reopened on September 5, 2019.
This reconstructed grade crossing was designed in conjunction with the Town of North Hempstead to enhance safety and provide for a quieter and more livable community along the railroad. Previously, as trains approached the station, grade crossing gates were in the down position 27 to 35 percent of the time during AM and PM peak hours, respectively, and six fatal crashes at grade crossing locations in the LIRR Main Line corridor occurred between 2007 to 2017. The elimination of the Urban Avenue grade crossing is part of the LIRR Expansion Project to strengthen the reliability of LIRR infrastructure and ultimately support the growth and development of Long Island.
MTA Construction & Development’s LIRR Expansion Project will undoubtedly make riding the rails better by reducing train delays and enabling true bi-directional service during peak hours with a more reliable rail network. But all these upgrades and new infrastructure also goes a long way to improve quality of life in…
The MTA ended 2019 having completed almost two dozen Long Island Rail Road projects! Stations were modernized, new bridges were installed, grade crossings were eliminated…the Railroad even became the first North American railway (and first worldwide) to use lasers to blast leaf residue from its rails. The LIRR Modernization Program,…
The MTA LIRR Expansion Project Floral Park to Hicksville team had a busy 2019! Here’s a timelapse video of the major milestones completed this year: “We have four more existing bridges to replace and six more at-grade crossings to eliminate over the next 35 months,” said MTA Chief Development Officer…
Box-jack. Have you heard of it? No, not the burger, and definitely not the creepy musical clown that pops out at you. It’s yet another in a series of incredible firsts for the MTA as part of the LIRR Expansion Project: a revolutionary technique to install railroad bridges over underpasses,…
The elimination of the Urban Avenue grade crossing was an exciting milestone for LIRR Expansion Project: residents now have less noise from passing trains and emissions from queued cars, no more waiting at the gates…the trouble is, according to residents, Urban Avenue is prone to flooding. One resident remarked, prior…
At the core of MTA LIRR’s values is safety: for employees, contractors, customers and residents who live near our construction sites. Throughout the course of the LIRR Expansion Project, safety officials have been and continue to monitor every project element to make sure construction crews and nearby residents are safe during construction.
MTA Chief Development Officer Janno Lieber cuts the ribbon in a ceremony at Urban Avenue, marking the reopening of the roadway that now travels under the LIRR main line, the first of eight grade crossing eliminations to be completed as part of the $2.6 billion LIRR Expansion Project. The Urban…
Significant progress continues on the LIRR Expansion Project from Floral Park to Hicksville. In an unusual feat of engineering that demanded precise coordination and a dedicated workforce over an uncomfortably hot weekend, the LIRR Expansion Project team jacked into place the new bridge structure at the Urban Avenue Grade…
On July 15th, Town of North Hempstead Councilwoman Viviana Russell recorded an interview about the LIRR Expansion Project at the Community Information Center in Mineola. Councilwoman Russell highlighted the project’s benefits to Carle Place and New Cassel, including ongoing station enhancements at Carle Place and the elimination of the Urban…
Last weekend, LIRR and 3TC crews, in an innovative feat of engineering, installed a new bridge at Urban Avenue in New Cassel, marking another LIRR Expansion Project milestone. Crews worked around-the-clock through a heatwave from Friday evening until the early morning hours Monday — keeping the LIRR Expansion Project itself…
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