The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) unveiled its new, storm-resilient Clifton Car Maintenance Shop on Staten Island. The previous incarnation of the Staten Island Railway facility suffered extensive damage that led to months of disruption following Hurricane Sandy a decade ago, and has been rebuilt to sustain Category 2 hurricane water and wind pressures up to 110 miles per hour sustained winds, plus a three foot water surge.

The facility includes a new shop, administrative offices and support buildings. Inside the shop there are four tracks for car inspections and repairs, interior car cleaning and approved car modification programs, and an overhead lifting system for changing roof-mounted air conditioning units lifting car bodies for car trucks maintenance.

Funding for the $165 million design-build project was allocated from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA’s) Hurricane Sandy recovery program. Other components of the five-year project include:

• Demolition, removal and disposal of structures and systems including underground diesel.
• Reconfiguration of tracks and switches and realignment of indoor tracks, including traction power and underground utilities.
• Environmental work including asbestos abatement, lead abatement and underground fuel storage tanks removal.

• Installing communications systems including clock/timekeeping, fire alarm, public address, CCTV and security systems and sprinkler and standpipe systems.

-via Press Release