This Is When The L Train Will Be Messed Up This Fall

L TRAIN CORRIDOR, NY — As repairs to the L train move along, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced Wednesday a string of new service changes expected this fall.

The Canarsie tunnel repairs are ahead of schedule, according to the MTA, so now the authority is moving towards preparation work for other parts of the repairs — like accessibility upgrades and station work. The new projects will mean more shut-downs to L service in the next few months, starting as early as next weekend.

"While the L Project was initiated because of the damage from Superstorm Sandy, it was designed to address many other critical needs — namely, accessibility," Alex Elegudin, NYC Transit's senior advisor for accessibility, said in a statement.

The services changes include adding an escalator at Union Square and elevators at the Sixth Avenue station.

"Advancing this work now at these critical stations as we had promised will help to minimize disruptions later while also getting the accessibility and ease-of-access improvements done as quickly as possible, a huge win for our customers," Elegudin said.

For starters, the service changes include no L train service from September 13 to 16 between Eighth Ave. and Broadway Junction from 10:45 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday.

Alternative service includes the M and G trains, two shuttle buses in Brooklyn, and additional M14 Select Bus Service in Manhattan.

Then, come October and November, another three to five weeks of weeknights and weekends will have no L train service at the Eighth Avenue and Sixth Avenue stations in Manhattan — though dates have yet to be announced.

Other options for straphangers include the M, G, and 7 trains as well as additional M14 Select Bus Service in Manhattan.

The changes could also include skipping Union Square station intermittently, as necessary, the MTA said.

The service changes will make way for additional station work at Union Square and Sixth Avenue. At Union Square, the MTA will add a new escalator to help the thousands of people morning and night navigate the station that is among the most crowded in the New York City subway station. At Sixth Avenue, the L, F and M trains will be accessible with new elevators from street to mezzanine to platform.

The new service changes announced Wednesday are in addition to the ongoing L train "slowdown," where service is reduced on weeknights and weekends. In Brooklyn, other planned changes between Lorimer Street and Broadway Junction remain the same.

The L train repairs were previously expected to shutter the line between Manhattan and Brooklyn completely for 15 months until a team of experts commissioned by Gov. Andrew Cuomo came up with a different way of doing the repairs. The MTA says L train service has been "maintained as normal" on weekdays for 88 percent of weekday straphangers under the new plan.

Read more about the L train project and service changes on the MTA's website here.