3/1/10–8/31/10 Roosevelt Island Tram Will Close For 6 Months for Modernizations

Tram service is suspended from Monday, March 1, 2010 through Tuesday, August 31, 2010.

The Aerial Tramway Project

On March 1, 2010, two months shy of the 34th anniversary of its opening, service on the Roosevelt Island Aerial Tramway will be suspended for six months for extensive modernization and upgrades. Opened in May 1976, the Tram (the first aerial tramway system in the U.S. to be used for urban mass transportation) was projected to have a useful life of 17 years. Installed as a “stop gap” measure, because promised subway service to Roosevelt Island had been delayed by decades, the Tram has served New Yorkers well, currently carrying over 2 million passengers per year.

The once “stop gap” Tram has become an icon of the New York City skyline. Since 2005 Tram service has been integrated with the MTA’s MetroCard system, providing Tram riders with bus and subway transfer privileges enjoyed by other MTA passengers. The Tram modernization, projected to cost up to $25 million, is being funded with $10 million from RIOC and $15 million from New York State.

When modernization work is completed, virtually everything constituting the aerial tramway system will have been replaced except the bases of the three towers that support the cables on which it runs which have been deemed safe by engineers. The tower tops will be replaced to accommodate a wider cable gauge, “dual haul” system, a more advanced cable operating system available as a result of advances made in “ropeway” (as cable-propelled transit systems are known) technology in the 33 plus years since installation of the Roosevelt Island system.

http://rioc.ny.gov/pdf/TransitAdvisory4.pdf

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Supplemental Transportation During Shut Down Period

During the six month Tram shutdown, in addition to the MTA’s F train subway service and Q102 bus, RIOC will operate special shuttle buses ($1 fare) to accommodate those residents and visitors for whom using the F train is too difficult. During peak morning weekday rush hours (between 7 and 9:30 am), a RIOC shuttle bus, on the hour and half hour, will make the run from the island to the Queens Plaza E, G, R & V subway stop every half-hour. During non-peak periods (10 am to 2:30 pm and 7 pm to 11 pm), when traffic is less congested on the Queensboro Bridge, the RIOC shuttle bus will depart the island and run express to a bus stop on the west side of 2nd Ave. between 58th and 59th Street. It will pick up passengers from that bus stop and run express back to the Island. There will be special shuttle bus picking up school children in Manhattan at 4 pm weekdays. There will be hourly weekend bus shuttle service from 10 am to 11:30 pm.

Red Shuttle Bus Schedule and subway transfer info:
http://www.rioc.com/TramMod/suptransportation.htm