Every day 300,000 people take the L train to and from work. I am not sure if that is 300,000 people or 150,000 people going in and out, but either way, it’s a lot of people.
And the MTA is going to shut down the L train for 15 months, starting in April 2019.
So this is a big deal for NYC, and a big deal for NYC tech companies. In an informal and unscientific poll I took this week of NYC tech company CEOs, about 20-25% of the employees of NYC tech companies in Manhattan take the L train to work.
So how are these people going to commute for those 15 months (which is almost certainly going to take longer than 15 months)?
The best answer I have heard from the NYC government is “more buses going over the Williamsburg bridge.” Which is an option but not a fantastic option. The Williamsburg bridge is already a crowded transportation mode during the morning and evening rush hours and more buses means something is going to have to give.
So this week, I saw this cool project pop up on Kickstarter.
Take just one minute and watch this video:
Pretty cool, right?
My dad was an Army Corp of Engineers officer his entire career and retired a Brigadier General. He knows a lot about pontoon bridges. So I asked him if this idea is viable. He said:
Fred,Having built several pontoon bridges, including some designed for 60-ton tanks, I know the idea is feasible.(One of my bridges was across the Rhine River. That was done for the first time by Julius Caesar.)Drawbacks: they are expensive, have low speed limits, and require constant maintenance.Still, if the permanent solution in that location can’t handle traffic for some time, this could be a temporary replacement.Interesting idea. Thanks for sharing it with me.Love, Dad
