The L train tunnel shutdown won’t happen as soon as expected

The L-pocalypse is still a few years off.

A group of elected officials met with the MTA this week to discuss the various options they're considering for repairing the Canarsie tubes that the L train uses to travel between Manhattan and Brooklyn. (AKA the extent to which they want to turn North Brooklyn into The Village.)

After talking with the agency, New York State Assemblyman Joe Lentol told the Daily News that repairs to the tubes won’t begin until two or three years from now. Work will likely begin in 2018.

The MTA is still weighing a number of options for the project including closing just one of the tubes at a time, which would take three years, or only closing the tubes on nights and weekends, which extends the project to five years.

If the Canarsie tubes were to be shut down completely, the repairs would take approximately eighteen months.

“I think it gives us time to prepare and to meet with the community and give them some input and transparency,” said Lentol. Hopefully, that time is not spent on planning more shuttle busses.

The tubes were seriously damaged by flood waters during Hurricane Sandy.