Hurricane Sandy was the worst natural disaster to strike the Northeast when it slammed into the coast on Oct. 29, 2012, making landfall near Atlantic City, NJ, and causing area public transportation agencies to shut down.

 

As agencies began the lengthy and complex process of assessing the damage immediately after the hurricane dissipated, one thing became increasing clear, says a spokesperson for New York Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA). “It will take until 2016 or 2017 to get where we were the day before the storm hit.”

 

Now, one year later, public transit agencies are making steady progress to fully recover and protect their infrastructure from future storms. The following is a recap of current efforts at the MTA and New Jersey Transit Corporation.

 

At the MTA, employees have logged an estimated 2.3 million work hours to repair, “harden,” and protect the system. In all, the MTA has replaced 100 miles of cable, repaired 46,000 feet of track, removed 32,000 tons of debris, and replaced or restored 1,600 signal relays, 150 switches, and 20 pumps.

 

“The challenge after Sandy was to quickly establish effective protection against storm surges, and the MTA is meeting that challenge head-on by quickly deploying methods that we can achieve with our existing forces,” said Thomas F. Prendergast, MTA chairman and chief executive officer. “At the same time, under the leadership of Governor Cuomo, we are piloting various alternative strategies to see if they will work within the diverse confines of our system. We are building back better, stronger, and more resilient.”

 

Across the MTA, more than 70 projects are in design, with an estimated value of approximately $4.5 billion. Design is underway for making repairs to six subway tubes, including work on signals, pump rooms, power and communications, tunnel lighting, and ducts. In addition, New York City Transit is building two new pump trains that will reduce the time needed to pump water out of approximately 600 potential entry points in the subway system in Lower Manhattan. The MTA is also working to rebuild the new South Ferry subway station, which was flooded with more than 14 million gallons of salt water. 

 

Agency officials are also working to test and install “tunnel plugs” to protect subway portals where grade level tracks transition to underground subway, a “tensioned curtain” for use when the plug isn’t feasible, and devises that would be used to seal ventilation grates. 

At New Jersey Transit, Superstorm Sandy was an unprecedented weather event, leaving behind extraordinary challenges, with unparalleled devastation as the powerful storm surge washed away miles of track and literally knocked bridges off their piers.

 

The agency restored bus and light rail service shortly after the storm, and with the restoration of its Gladstone Branch in December 2012, all rail lines were returned to service. Approximately 93 percent of all damaged rail equipment has been returned to service, and the agency resumed a full pre-Sandy rail schedule as of Oct. 12. The agency is now working to make the system more resilient to future storms.

 

As Executive Director James ­Weinstein said, it is not enough to simply repair substations, maintenance facilities, and other infrastructure to their previous state. “Money invested in preventing future storm damage will limit the bill for future storm relief, as well as preventing future service interruptions by keeping the 900,000 customers who utilize our system every day on the move,” he said.

 

In concert with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, NJ Transit has developed an open, transparent rebuilding process, including the launch of www.superstormsandyrecovery.com, an information portal where taxpayers and customers can track the agency’s system recovery, restoration, and resiliency process.

 

Among the innovative, short term measures enacted by NJ Transit include the installation of “trap bag” mobile flood barriers to protect four key power substations from the potential impacts of flooding, including the Mason power substation, which was damaged during the hurricane. Trap bags are high-tech sandbags used for flood control along Louisiana’s Lake Pontchartrain, in the Rockaways, and areas of Long Island and Staten Island.

 

Additionally, the agency has worked with state and federal leaders to launch innovative, unique projects designed to enhance future resiliency.

 

One of its most significant efforts is the NJ Transitgrid, which Christie announced last summer, a first-of-its-kind electrical microgrid that can supply highly-reliable power during storms or other times when the traditional centralized grid is compromised.

 

The microgrid will minimize the social and economic impact of a major transit infrastructure-related power disruption, agency officials say, and serve as a powerful tool to facilitate emergency evacuation-related activities.