Thousands of F- and G-line commuters in Windsor Terrace will need to find a new way to get home starting on Monday when some service is eliminated to the 15th Street and Fort Hamilton Parkway stations.
Next week, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority will temporarily eliminate Coney Island- and Church Avenue-bound service at the stations, affecting about 11,000 commuters per day.
The service cuts will allow MTA contractors to replace tracks, signals and switches on the aging line.
The outbound F and G trains will skip the stations on the express track to Church Avenue. To access the skipped stations, customers will have to double-back.
The outage will last until the spring.
“It’s an inconvenience to people and it’s definitely going to affect peoples quality of life,” said Gary Reilly, a member of the Community Board 6 Transportation Committee. “If the MTA had some better resources, they could provide a shuttle bus to replace the services that were lost.”
The work is part of the $275.5-million restoration of the 80-year-old Culver Viaduct, an engineering marvel that carries the elevated F and G lines between Fourth Avenue and Carroll Street.
That work includes a complete shutdown of the line in both directions this weekend and next — though shuttle buses will be provided.
Brownstone Brooklynites are used to regular inconvenience — and are, generally, OK with it, Reilly said.
“This project needs to get done,” he said. “When all is said and done, not only will it be safer, but with modernized tracks and signalling, it will ultimately provide the infrastructure for a possible return of express service in the future.”
Reach reporter Colin Mixson at cmixson@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-4514.
