N.Y. subway shutdown averted

NEW YORK— It was called the L train apocalypse: a 15-month shutdown of a major subway tunnel between Manhattan and Brooklyn that would allow for critical repairs but affect 250,000 riders daily.

But on Thursday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuom o announced a reprieve, saying that engineers would use a new technology imported from Europe to fix the tunnel without having to close it entirely.

The original plan would have shut the whole tunnel, starting April 27, to repair damage from Hurricane Sandy’s floodwaters from 2012.

Cuomo’s new plan will take about the same amount of time but will keep full train service during weekdays and close one of the tunnel’s two tubes on nights and weekends.

Cuomo said the Metropolitan Transportation Authority will rely on a new design that does not require the heavy construction mandated by the old plan. Not fully closing the L train will be a “phenomenal benefit to the people of New York City.”

The new plan means that the L train’s weekday rush-hour schedule will remain the same. Wait times on nights and weekends will be longer.

The subway tunnel itself was structurally sound, the governor said, but the problem that needed to be addressed was saltwater leaching into the tunnel and coming into contact with electrical components.

Officials said the new plan also includes improvements to make the tunnel more resilient.