Engineer: Rebuilding L Train Tunnel Completely Would Extend its Life Further Than New Plan
Michael Horodniceanu is Industry Professor of urban and civil engineering and chairman of the IDC Innovation Hub at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering.
Since he announced the new L train rehabilitation plan, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has had to walk a tightrope. While he frames the plan as a major technological breakthrough, he also insists the method is proven. Michael Horodniceanu, who was in charge of all major MTA projects from 2008 to 2017 as president of MTA Capital Construction, said "this is technology that is known to the MTA". The technology he referenced is a type of reinforced fiber he said has been used on tunnel walls. The MTA's previous plan called for completely demolishing and replacing the benchwall, which Horodniceanu said would have given the structure a longer life cycle.
