--- description: One of New York City's busiest subway lines will shut for 18 months title: New York's Busiest Subway is Going to Shut For 18 Months image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6df12b09e7a237d1/69889f15bc6cfca06c3ddf27/l-train-shutdown.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # One of New York's Busiest Subway Lines Is Shutting For 18 Months by [Mahita Gajanan](/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Jul 25, 2016 1:08 PM CUT  Passengers pack themselves into a crowded L Train on the New York City subway system on May 5, 2016. Passengers pack themselves into a crowded L Train on the New York City subway system on May 5, 2016.William Mathis—AP by [Mahita Gajanan](/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Jul 25, 2016 1:08 PM CUT One of New York City’s busiest subway lines will [shut for 18 months](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/26/nyregion/l-train-will-shut-down-from-manhattan-to-brooklyn-in-2019-for-18-months.html?%5Fr=0 "undefined"), city officials confirmed Monday, potentially creating havoc for hundreds of thousands of commuters and tourists. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority plans to close the tunnel that carries the L train, one of the city’s most crowded [subway lines](http://time.com/2940560/nyc-subway-survives/ "undefined") that runs under the East River between Manhattan and Brooklyn, to repair damages caused by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The tunnel, which transports about 225,000 riders beneath the East River each day, will close entirely for a year and a half starting in January 2019, the [New York _Times_ reported](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/26/nyregion/l-train-will-shut-down-from-manhattan-to-brooklyn-in-2019-for-18-months.html?%5Fr=0 "undefined"). It’s the main link between Manhattan and the neighborhood of Williamsburg, whose shops, bars and restaurants have become a magnet for visitors to the city. It’s just one of a variety of [subway systems](http://time.com/4347614/washington-dc-metro-worst-stations/ "undefined") facing temporary closures across the northeastern U.S., as [aging infrastructure](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/27/nyregion/no-silver-bullet-as-subways-in-the-northeast-show-their-age.html?%5Fr=0 "undefined") in increasingly unable to keep up with the droves of young people moving to cities like New York, Boston and Washington D.C. who prefer mass transit. New York officials are focusing on finding [alternative travel options](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/26/nyregion/l-train-will-shut-down-from-manhattan-to-brooklyn-in-2019-for-18-months.html?%5Fr=0 "undefined") to accommodate people, including extra subway service plans on nearby lines and a new bus and ferry service. \[[NYT](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/26/nyregion/l-train-will-shut-down-from-manhattan-to-brooklyn-in-2019-for-18-months.html?%5Fr=0 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4421490/new-york-l-train-closure-18-months/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4421490/new-york-l-train-closure-18-months/"},"headline":"One of New York's Busiest Subway Lines Is Shutting For 18 Months","datePublished":"2016-07-25T13:08:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T23:30:44.262Z","description":"No L train for a year and a half","url":"https://time.com/4421490/new-york-l-train-closure-18-months/","keywords":["Transportation"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6df12b09e7a237d1/69889f15bc6cfca06c3ddf27/l-train-shutdown.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mahita Gajanan","jobTitle":"Gajanan is an editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6df12b09e7a237d1/69889f15bc6cfca06c3ddf27/l-train-shutdown.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Subway Shutdown","caption":"Passengers pack themselves into a crowded L Train on the New York City subway system on May 5, 2016.","creditText":"William Mathis—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4421490/new-york-l-train-closure-18-months/","name":"One of New York's Busiest Subway Lines Is Shutting For 18 Months"}}]}] ```